Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs The Fog of Inaba
by poplel
Summary: A new Devil Summoner has taken the name of Raidou Kuzunoha. Raidou Kuzunoha the XVI is tasked with figuring out the mystery behind the strange deaths occurring in the small town of Inaba. A retelling of Persona 4 with Raidou Kuzunoha. (Cross-posted on AO3)
1. Case 1: Raidou Kuzunoha the XVI

Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Fog of Inaba

Case 1: Raidou Kuzunoha the XVI

Date: ?/?, ?

Time: ?

Weather: ?

Location: Kuzunoha Training Hall

In an empty room, a large tree loomed over a kneeling boy, the only sound that could be heard was the crackling of the two torches by the boy's side.

"As the sun shines above, It casts shadows on the land below," An elderly voice started. "Such is the law of the heavens; the law of the earth."

"Likewise, where there is man, so too will there be darkness," The voice continued "We exist to vanquish that darkness."

"You, who aspire to become the next Summoner, state your name…"

The boy who silently kneeled at the base of the tree opened his eyes and slowly rose to his feet, picking up the cloak that was laid before him.

"My name is Jousei Shokan," he stated simply.

"The time has come, Jousei Shokan," the voice replied. "Your years of training have come to an end, and I have determined that you are worthy of the Kuzunoha name!"

The boy smirked and threw the cloak over himself, small flashes of maroon leaked out from inside the cloak. He stood confidently, the small crack of the black cloak revealing a white holster over his black gakuran, a revolver snug into the holster on his right and a katana in its sheath on his left. White chest straps held mysterious vials and a school hat stood tall over his head, black curls spilling out from underneath.

"You have already proven your worth, Jousei Shokan," the elderly voice spoke. "I hereby bestow upon you the title of Raidou, in accordance with our tradition."

"Fifteen times now has the first Raidou Kuzunoha been succeeded," the elderly voice continued.

"From this day onward, you shall be known as Raidou Kuzunoha the 16th!" the voice boomed.

"You have a great responsibility, Raidou…" the elderly voice trailed on. "You will go to the small town of Inaba and defend our land."

"With this duty comes great peril, so I will assign a partner to accompany you."

"Come forth, Gouto-douji."

"...This is the 16th?" a voice sounded out from behind the boy. "Hmph, says you: the Raidou name used to command respect."

A black cat with striking green eyes walked up to the boy's side.

"But, I guess orders are orders," the cat hissed. "Just call me Gouto."

Gouto continued, "You're Jousei Shokan, right?" Gouto paused. "That name reminds me of someone I once knew…" Gouto seemed to be lost in remembrance.

He snapped out of his memories, "Well whatever, Nice to meet ya."

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Date: ?/?, ?

Time: ?

Weather: Fog

Location: Nameless shrine

Jousei and Gouto stood at the end of a path leading to a small shrine, a calming fog blanketed the area.

"This is important, Jousei, so remember it," Gouto started. "Most people don't pay much attention to this beat-up shrine…" he continued. "But, it's actually of great importance to the Kuzunoha clan."

"This is where we contact our client in Inaba," he finished.

Jousei nodded knowingly as he and Gouto made their way down the path. At the end, they were greeted by a lady wrapped in black robes as well as a black hood hiding everything above her nose.

"I was told that Raidou Kuzunoha the 16th would be arriving soon," she called. "You are that Devil Summoner, I presume?"

Jousei nodded to the woman.

"I am the Herald who brings tidings from Yatagarasu," she continued. "I am the one who ordered the Kuzunoha clan to maintain peace in Inaba."

"So, long story short, you want Raidou here to keep watch over this small town?" Gouto questioned.

"Yes, although it is small, the town of Inaba is still part of Japan and must be protected from whatever harm may come it's way," the Herald replied. "I have sensed the coming of a series of events caused by an outsider that would result in harm to the peace that Inaba knows."

She continued, "If these events were to be played out without resistance, the ramifications could spell trouble for not just Inaba, but for all of Japan."

"In order to prevent that from happening, I am calling on you, Raidou Kuzunoha the 16th," she finished.

"A strange new world has opened up beside this one," the Herald warned. "However, your powers as a Devil Summoner will allow you to investigate it and subdue anything before it can cause any public harm."

"Such is the will of Yatagarasu. Do you understand?" she questioned.

Jousei Shokan would have brushed it off, not taken it seriously. That was how he had lived his life up until this point, but now he was no longer just Jousei Shokan. He was now the newest Raidou Kuzunoha in a long line of protectors and heroes. Now it was his turn.

Jousei resolved himself, "I will protect the people." Those were his first words, not as Jousei Shokan, but as Raidou Kuzunoha the XVI.

"I am glad to hear you say that," The Herald said. "...There is one last thing."

The Herald continued, "You will have an assistant while in Inaba…" she paused for a bit before continuing. "A man named Ryotaro Dojima. He's a detective for the Inaba Police force."

"You are to become an assistant to this man and work at the Inaba Police Station."

Gouto interrupted, "An assistant to a detective, huh? Well, It's not the swankiest way of gathering information, but it'll do."

The Herald spoke again, "I have already made the proper arrangements with Mr. Dojima," she continues. "The fate of Inaba rests on your shoulders, Raidou Kuzunoha."

"...That is all. We are counting on you."

* * *

AN: This is my first fic so criticism is appreciated, the first few chapters are gonna be mainly just how it plays out in both games just to have some set up but it will become a bit different later on.

Also Raidou is not fictional/a movie like Chie references to when talking about Naoto, everything in both games happened and this is sort of based on the idea that the neutral ending of Raidou 2 leads to the Persona/SMT If... timeline

Some Golden content will be present but no Marie (sorry to the one person that likes Marie)

I'll probably post this on AO3 as well


	2. Case 2: Yu Narukami

Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Fog of Inaba

Case 2: Yu Narukami

Date: ?/?, ?

Time: ?

Weather: ?

Location:?

Blue. Blue was all I could see when I opened my eyes. I was taken aback by the odd scene that was unfolding before my eyes. I seemed to be in a very luxurious limousine, the seat was comfy and there were glasses lined up on a shelf to my left, which seemed to be for the alcoholic(?) beverages on my right. I looked to the windows to try and see what was outside but I was only met with thick fog. I felt foolish when I failed to notice the other two passengers that sat across from me.

The first one was a mature-looking woman with platinum-blonde hair, pale skin, and golden eyes. She wore entirely blue and a blue book rested on her lap. She made me gape at her sheer beauty and grace.

The second passenger made me gape for a completely different reason. He was a far cry from his companion's beauty and grace, his whole being screamed bizarre. The most noticeable thing about him was his long nose, but his bulging bloodshot eyes and pointy ears also got my attention. In contrast to all the blue, he wore a simple black suit with white gloves and a handkerchief bursting out of his breast pocket.

The man suddenly spoke, bringing me out of my stupor.

"Ah… It seems we have a guest with an intriguing destiny…" he chuckled. "My name is Igor… I am delighted to make your acquaintance."

Even his voice was also bizarre it was both soothing but at the same time unnatural and unnerving.

"This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter…" he continued. "It is a room that only those who are bound by a "contract" may enter…"

"It may be that such a fate awaits you in the near future."

He was going to fast for me to comprehend. Guest? Intriguing destiny? Between dream and reality? I was hearing his word but it felt like he was speaking an entirely different language.

"Now then… Why don't you introduce yourself…?" He looked at me expectantly.

"...Yu...Narukami." I choked out stupidly.

I was surprised to hear my voice, my brain had been abuzz with trying to comprehend what had just happened in such a short amount of time.

"Hm… I see," Igor's words once again startled me. "Now, let's take a look into your future, shall we?"

Igor laid his hand over the table that sat in front of him and his hand started to glow. Once the light had dissipated a lone card was left laying on the table.

"Do you believe in fortune-telling?"

Igor swept his hand over the card and the one soon became seven.

"Each reading is done with the same cards, yet the result is always different…" he chuckled "Life itself follows the same principles, doesn't it?"

He flipped a card over.

"Hm… The Tower in the upright position represents the immediate future. It seems a terrible catastrophe is imminent," he continued. "The card indicating the future beyond that is…"

Igor, once again, flipped a card over.

"The Moon, in the upright position," Igor continued. "This card represents "hesitation'' and ''mystery" ... Very interesting indeed."

"It seems you will encounter a misfortune at your destination, and a great mystery will be imposed upon you."

"In the coming days, you will enter into a contract of some sort, after which you will return here."

"The coming year is a turning point in your destiny…" Igor paused. "If the mystery goes unsolved, your future may be forever lost."

"My duty is to provide assistance to our guests to ensure that does not happen."

Igor swept his hand over the cards and they faded away like they never existed in the first place. Both Igor's words and actions washed over my already confused mind, making it even harder to think. I already was feeling nauseous but Igor decided to continue.

"Ah! I have neglected to introduce my assistant to you," he gestured over to the woman. "This is Margaret. She is a resident of this place, like myself."

This was the first time I looked over to her since I had first woken up. Her golden eyes bore into mine and the woman I had thought beautiful before only made my mind swim with panic just like Igor's words had.

"My name is Margaret. I am here to accompany you through your journey." Her tone was serious and had little to no inflection. I squirmed in my seat and felt like I was at my limit.

For once I was glad to hear Igor speak.

"We shall attend to the details another time," he spoke. "Until then, farewell…"

My mind was finally given reprieve as I faded out of consciousness…

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Date: 04/11, Monday

Time: Afternoon

Weather: Cloudy

Location: Inaba Train station

...Only to fade into consciousness. The train was noisy as it made its way to my destination, Yasoinaba, the place I'll be staying at for the next year. I reminisced about my old school, my old classmates, my old life. I was soon cut out of my memories by a sharp sensation. Flashes of my dream(?) that I had just woken up from. A man with a long nose… And a woman in blue… What could it all mean? I was soon relieved of having to think about that dream when my train started coming to a stop.

I stepped off the train, ready to face whatever this town had in store.

"Hey! Over here!"

I was immediately greeted by a man's voice calling out to me.

I walked up to the man and he immediately started to introduce himself.

"Welcome to Inaba. I'm Ryotaro Dojima. I'll be looking after you," Dojima stopped to think for a moment. "Let's see... I'm your mother's younger brother… and that about sums it up."

His short explanation was sort of awkward but it was welcoming after that overwhelming dream on the train. I stuck my hand out to shake his.

"I'm Yu Narukami, It's nice to meet you, Uncle." Our handshake was brief but it was warm and welcoming.

Dojima seemed to be surprised, "Heh, calling me Uncle already? I didn't think you'd remember me, but we've met. I've changed your diapers before, you know."

His already awkward introduction became even more awkward but I couldn't stop myself from smiling. Dojima looked down at the little girl by his side that I somehow failed to notice before. He pushed the little girl in front of him.

"This here's my daughter," he looked at her expectantly. "Come on, Nanako, introduce yourself to your cousin."

The little girl turned away from me, "...' lo." Her greeting was half-hearted, to say the least.

Dojima chuckled, "What're you so shy for?" This whole meeting was awkward but it reached its peak when Nanako went behind him and slapped him on his rear. Dojima simply laughed it off and Nanako looked away again.

"Well then… Let's get going," Dojima finally said as we made our way to his car.

I was following close behind them when I bumped into a stranger by accident.

"Ah, sorry." I simply said, turning to the man.

It was only then that I caught a glimpse at his strange attire. A large black cloak draped over what seemed to be a traditional school uniform, black curls spilled out from his school cap, and he seemed to have a white vest and holsters. A black cat with green eyes followed just behind the man.

"It's alright." His voice caused me to come back to reality. He sounded rather laid back in contrast to his serious image.

We both started to walk off before he called out to me again.

"...Hey," he bent down and picked up a piece of paper on the ground. "You dropped this."

"Ah, Thank you," was all I could respond with as I took the paper from his hand.

"It's no big deal, just helping out."

All the paper had was just Dojima's address on it.

The man gave me a warm smile, "Be safe and have a nice day," he started to walk off. The black cat stared at me for a bit and I was already starting to feel a bit unnerved.

"Gouto, let's go," the man called out. Me and the black cat exchanged one final look before the cat hurried to the man's side.

Dojima called out to me and I made my way to his car.

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Date: 04/11, Monday

Time: Afternoon

Weather: Cloudy

Location: Inaba, Central shopping district, Gas station

We had stopped at this gas station because Nanako needed to use the restroom. Dojima had stepped out to the side of the car to have a smoke, and I was holding small talk with the attendant.

"This place must look pretty boring to a city boy like yourself, huh?"

I was sort of taken aback by their question and only managed to say "No," softly.

They laughed it off, "It's fine, there's so little to do, I'm sure you'll get bored fast. You'll either be hanging out with your friends or doing part-time jobs."

The attendant not so subtly segued into their next statement, "Speaking of which, we're actually looking for part-time help right now."

I politely declined their offer.

The attendant walked up to me and held out their hand, "Give it some thought, why don't you? We don't mind if you're a student."

While I shook their hand Nanako came back from the restroom and the attendant hurried to finish their job.

A sudden sense of nausea came over me and nearly keeled over. Nanako looked at me worriedly.

"...Are you okay?" she asked. "Did you get carsick? You don't look too good…"

I suddenly found my voice, "I'm okay, Nanako," I smiled weakly. "I'm just exhausted from the long trip."

Nanako eyed me with what seemed to be a mix of worriedness and suspicion when Dojima came over to me.

"If you're not feeling great we should hurry home so you can rest."

I merely nodded my head slowly as we got back in the car.

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Date: 04/11, Monday

Time: Evening

Weather: Rain

Location: Dojima Residence

We settled down for dinner as Dojima started making small talk with me.

"Well, it's just me and Nanako here, so it'll be nice having someone like you around," he continued. "So long as you're here, you're part of the family, so make yourself at home."

I smiled at him, "Thank you for your kindness."

Dojima chuckled," Well, that's enough of that, let's eat."

A ringing sound interrupted us before we could start eating. Dojima seemed annoyed and sighed before answering.

"...Dojima speaking," Dojima stood up and moved away from the table. "The new trainee's here? I see… So where is he?... Alright, I'm on my way."

Dojima sighed, "Looks like I made the right choice to skip the booze," He turned around to us. "Sorry, but I gotta go take care of some business. Go ahead and eat without me."

Dojima looked to Nanako as she rose from the table as well, "I don't know how late I'll be. Nanako, you help him out, okay?"

"...Okay." Nanako sounded disappointed as Dojima walked out of the house, into the rain.

After hearing Dojima's car skid away, Nanako sat back down and turned on the T.V. It was just a weather report, seemed like there would mostly be rain for the next couple of days.

"Let's eat," Nanako said softly.

I tried to strike up a conversation out of courtesy, "What does your dad do?"

Nanako looked at me, "He… investigates stuff. Like crime scenes," Nanako seemed to find the right word after thinking for a bit, "My dad's a detective."

"Oh…" I felt stupid that I could only get a simple 'Oh' out. I wasn't able to remedy my reaction before the news started again. I was lost in my mind like always and didn't hear much of the report before Nanako changed the channel.

"At Junes, every day is Customer Appreciation Day. Come see for yourself, and get in touch with our products!" a commercial for Junes started as soon as Nanako changed the channel. A sickly sweet jingle rang out afterward, "Every day's great at your Junes!"

"Every day's great at your Junes!" Nanako echoed.

I smiled. I think I liked Nanako's rendition a lot more than the original.

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Date: 04/11, Monday

Time: Evening

Weather: Rain

Location: Inaba Police Station

"So you're my new assistant, huh? I really didn't need two but orders are orders," Dojima crushed his cigarette in an ashtray. "So, what did you say your name was?"

The boy approached Dojima with a hand outstretched, "My name is Raidou Kuzunoha the XVI, it's nice to meet you, Dojima-senpai."

* * *

AN: Like I said the first few chapters are really just gonna be the beginning of the game, it kinda makes me feel bad since most of the dialogue is just straight from the game, maybe I'm going too slow, tell me in the comments.

Also I'm a little iffy on using honorifics, it's not like I don't like them I just don't feel like I'd be using them right, again tell me what you think by commenting

Also also like I said I'll probably post this on AO3 as well.

Thanks for reading.


	3. Case 3: Investigation

Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Fog of Inaba

Case 3: Investigation

Date: 04/11, Monday

Time: Evening

Weather: Rain

Location: Inaba Police Station

"My name is Raidou Kuzunoha the 16th, it's nice to meet you, Dojima-senpai."

Dojima returned my handshake and gave me an odd stare.

"'Dojima-san' is fine, Kuzunoha," Dojima corrected me. "Although it is still surprising that they sent me someone so young."

"Please just call me Raidou, sir," I said to Dojima.

Dojima nodded his head, "It seems you already know but, I'm Ryotaro Dojima. I'm a detective for the Inaba Police Department and you'll be my assistant," Dojima continued. "I already have another assistant but he couldn't make it so you'll have to wait for his introduction tomorrow."

Dojima paused and looked at me, taking in my appearance.

"What's with the clothes?" he asked. "Are you going to need a new uniform?"

"No, if it's fine with you I'd like to keep my current uniform," I said, thankful that I had not brought my katana or revolver with me. "It's sort of a traditional garb for my… I guess you could call them my family," I lied.

Dojima looked at me apprehensively, "I guess it's fine with me, just don't be surprised when you get odd looks."

Gouto came out from behind me, "Well it's good that our introductions are settled."

Dojima had taken notice of Gouto, "Is that your cat?" Dojima asked. "Sorry kid, but you can't bring your pet to the station."

Gouto let out a yelp of surprise when I picked him up, "Oh please, Dojima-san," I begged while rubbing Gouto's stomach. "I promise to keep watch over him, Gouto would never cause any trouble."

I smirked to Gouto, "Isn't that right Gouto?" I said in a cutesy voice.

"Put me down! In all my years of being a guide to the previous Kuzunohas, I've never seen one so blatantly disrespect me," Gouto squirmed in my hands while complaining. "You should respect your elders!"

"He sure does make a lot of noise," Dojima sighed. "Fine, you can bring him with you, just make sure he doesn't cause any trouble. One slip up and he's out of here."

I put a grumpy Gouto down, "Thank you, Dojima-san."

Dojima looked to his wristwatch, "It's getting late and this introduction has dragged on long enough, do you have a place to stay Raidou?"

"Yes I do Dojima-san, the Amagi Inn, I believe it was called," I said to him.

"That place is pretty far from here and it's raining pretty hard outside," Dojima said. "I'll give you a ride, come on."

I thanked him as I and Gouto made our way to his car.

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Date: 04/11, Monday

Time: Evening

Weather: Rain

Location: Amagi Inn

Me and Gouto entered the inn after I had said my goodbyes to Dojima. We both took in the traditional Japanese design of the inn. I felt a warm sense of nostalgia flood into me, giving me a small smile.

"This place is pretty snazzy looking," Gouto commented. "The contrast between this place and the rest of the town is astounding."

Before Gouto and I could continue admiring the inn, a young girl with long black hair wearing a pink yukata came up to us," Welcome to the Amagi Inn," she announced. "Do you have a reservation under your name?"

She led us to the front desk before pulling out a large book.

"Yes, I'm Raidou Kuzunoha," I informed her.

"Kuzunoha...Kuzunoha…" she mumbled while looking through the book. "Ah, here we are."

"Raidou Kuzunoha the 16th, it seems you'll be staying here for quite a while," she said, sounding surprised. "Allow me to show you to your room."

She stepped out from behind the front desk and gestured for me to follow her.

She immediately noticed Gouto beside me before we could continue to our room, "Oh is this your cat? He's so cute."

Gouto grumbled as she reached down to pet him.

I smiled, "Yep, his name is Gouto, we're new here to Inaba. I just transferred here to be a trainee under a detective in the Inaba Police Department."

"Oh, really?" the girl didn't hide the surprise on her face. "You looked so young that I thought you were a student at Yasogami high."

"Are you a student?" I questioned her.

"Oh, yes, sorry about not introducing myself," she seemed flustered. "I'm Yukiko Amagi, my family owns the Amagi Inn, and I work here as well as attending Yasogami High School."

She finished her introduction as we got to my room, "Well this is your room, Kuzunoha-san, if you need anything you can come to the front desk or contact us through the phone in your room."

"Thank you Yukiko-san, and please, just Raidou is fine."

Yukiko bid us farewell as I and Gouto entered our room. It was just a simple room with a small TV and a phone on a table to the left side as well as a larger table in the center of the room. My belongings were already placed in a large box and I got to unpacking.

Gouto thankfully filled the silence, "It's been a long day, Jousei, and it'll be an even longer one tomorrow. Finish unpacking and hurry up to bed, we got to be at the station early tomorrow."

I took Gouto's advice and after changing into more comfortable clothes, fell into a deep sleep.

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Date: 04/12, Tuesday

Time: Early Morning

Weather: Rain

Location: Amagi Inn

I had finished getting ready when a knock came at my door. I opened it and was greeted by Yukiko.

"Hello, Raidou-san, breakfast is ready for the guests. Will you be joining us?" she looked to Gouto. "Of course, there can be food arranged for Gouto-chan as well."

"...Gouto...Chan?" Gouto sounded both perplexed and annoyed as he registered what Yukiko called him.

I chuckled, "Yes, we'll be coming," Yukiko nodded and left to tell the other guests.

Gouto sighed as he walked ahead of me, "Come along, Jousei, I'm quite hungry and I'm sure you are as well."

After enjoying breakfast with Gouto, we made our way to the front entrance when someone approached me from behind.

"Were you about to head out Raidou-san?"

I turned around to see Yukiko, she was no longer in her yukata and was instead wore

A red sweater over a school uniform.

"Oh, Yukiko-san, yes I was about to head to the police station. I assume you're heading off to school?"

Yukiko nodded, "It's raining pretty hard out there," she looked to Gouto. "Are you really going to bring Gouto-chan with you?"

I picked Gouto up and held him to my chest, inside my cloak, "Gouto will be fine here."

"I'm not a normal cat, Jousei, water won't bother me," Gouto said, frustrated.

Yukiko must have interpreted his grumbling as agreement since she chuckled.

"Would it be okay if I walked with you Yukiko-san? I'm still not all that familiar with the layout of the town."

Yukiko nodded, "Of course, just follow me."

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Date: 04/12, Tuesday

Time: Early Morning

Weather: Rain

Location: Samegawa Flood Plain

Me and Yukiko were walking side by side in the rain as she finished explaining the layout of Inaba.

"And Yasogami High School is just ahead of here, sorry Raidou-san but I'll be leaving before you. The police station is still farther from here,"

"That's okay, Yukiko-san," I assured her. "Thank you for showing me the way."

"It's the least I could do for a guest," she paused. "Are you really not a student Raidou-san? How old are you?"

"Oh, no, I'm not a student anymore and I'm 19," I said.

"Really!? And you're already a detective?" she seemed shocked. "You're just like that 'Detective Prince' guy."

"'Detective Prince'?" I questioned. "Well, whatever, I'm still technically only a trainee."

"It's still really impressive Raidou-san," Yukiko said.

We stopped at the bottom of a hill, students going past us and up the hill. Yasogami High School.

Yukiko turned to me, "Well this is where I stop, have a good day, Raidou-san."

Yukiko turned away and started making her way to the school.

Gouto spoke up, "We should get going as well, Jousei."

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Date: 04/12, Tuesday

Time: Early Morning

Weather: Rain

Location: Yasogami High School

"...You calling me a loser?" I asked with disbelief. I was immediately filled with regret as those words sounded out through the classroom, soon followed by the gasps of the students.

"That's it, you're on my shit list, effective immediately," The teacher grunted at me.

Mr. Morooka, my new homeroom teacher, glared at me with contempt. He looked generally unpleasant with black hair in an ugly bob cut and huge buck teeth. As soon as I entered the room he started insulting me which caused my previous outburst of confusion.

"Now listen up!" Mr. Morooka continued to shout at me. "This town is miles away from your big city of perverts and assholes, in more ways than one…"

Mr. Morooka's rant was thankfully interrupted by the voice of a girl "Excuse me! Is it okay if the transfer student sits here?"

I looked to my savior, a girl with short brown hair wearing a green athletic jacket adorned with a couple buttons.

"Huh? Yeah, sure," Mr. Morooka turned to me. "Hear that? Your seat's over there. So hurry up and siddown already!"

I quickly retreated to the seat next to the girl. As soon as I took my seat, my savior leaned over to me.

"He's the worst, huh? Rotten luck for you to get stuck in this class…" she continued to complain. "Well, we'll just have to hang in there for a year."

She leaned back into her seat and the voices of the students around me suddenly entered the room. I laid my head in my desk and began to wallow in my own misfortune.

'_Man, I really screwed up my introduction, huh? I had hoped for a quiet school life but it seems that's not gonna happen now.' _

I was brought out of my thoughts as Mr. Morooka started taking roll, and the day soon passed me by.

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Date: 04/12, Tuesday

Time: After School

Weather: Fog

Location: Yasogami High

"That's all for today. Normal lectures will start tomorrow."

I sighed with relief as students started getting up and the sounds of separate conversations broke out into the class. But before I could get up as well, an announcement soon rang out from the school intercom.

"Attention, all teachers. Please report immediately to the Faculty Office for a brief staff meeting. All students must return to their classrooms and are not to leave the school until further notice."

As soon as the announcement ended, Mr. Morooka spoke up, "You heard the announcement. Don't go anywhere until you hear otherwise."

The door slammed as he left the room and the sounds of the students soon started again. Sirens could be heard in the distance as some students moved to the window to see what was going on. Their complaints about the fog soon transitioned to some rumors about the announcer, Mayumi Yamano. The boy that was spouting out rumors soon made his way to another girl near me.

"H-Hey, Yukiko-san. Mind if I ask you something…? Is it true that announcer's staying at your family's inn?"

The girl, Yukiko I assumed her name was, looked up to the boy, "I can't discuss such things."

The rumor-loving boy seemed dejected, "Y-Yeah, I guess not."

He returned to the window as the girl in the green jacket came towards the girl in red.

"Sheesh, how much longer is this gonna take?" she sighed.

"There's no telling" the other girl responded.

"I shoulda left before the announcement came on…" the girl in green seemed to be filled with energy as she transitioned into a different topic. "By the way, didja try what I told you the other day?"

The short-haired girl was met with confusion before continuing, "You know… That thing about rainy nights…"

The other girl seemed apologetic as she responded, "Oh… No, not yet. Sorry."

"Ahhh, that's okay," the short-haired girl assured her. "Well… it's just, I heard a guy in the class next door yell something like, 'My soul mate is Yamano, the announcer!'"

Their conversation was interrupted as the school intercom made another announcement.

"Attention, all students. There has been an incident inside the school district. Police officers have been dispatched around the School Zone. Please stay calm and contact your parents or guardians as soon as possible, and quickly leave the school grounds. Do not disturb the police officers. Head directly home."

The school announcement caused confusion and intrigue to well up inside the students around me.

"'Incident'!?"

"What, something actually happened?"

"C'mon, let's go take a look!"

Done listening in on others' conversations, I packed my things and prepared to leave. As I rose from my chair I was instead met with the colors green and red.

"Hey, are you going home by yourself?" the short-haired girl spoke first. "Why don't you come with us?"

Before I could accept her offer she suddenly remembered something, "Oh, nearly forgot! I'm Chie Satonaka. You know I sit next to you, right?"

"Of course," I returned awkwardly. "I'm Yu Narukami, I sort of ruined my introduction so I thought you didn't know. Thanks for saving me there, by the way."

"Oh, yeah, it was nothing. Honestly, you seemed pretty cool talking back to King Moron like that," she complimented me. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Yu-kun."

Chie looked to the girl beside her, "This is Yukiko Amagi."

Yukiko looked up from her feet and addressed me, "Oh, nice to meet you… I'm sorry that this is so sudden…"

"C'mon don't apologize like that. It makes me look like I got no upbringing," Chie interrupted. "I just wanted to ask some stuff. Really, that's all."

I started making my way out of the classroom with Chie and Yukiko when, again, I was met with an interruption. A boy with slightly unkempt brown hair and headphones around his neck approached Chie.

"Uh, umm, Miss Satonaka…?" the boy sounded bleak. "This was really awesome. Like, the way they moved was just amazing to see…"

Chie seemed confused when suddenly the boy bowed down and held out a DVD case, "And… I'm really sorry! It was an accident! Please just have mercy until my next paycheck!"

The boy finished his hurried apologies and turned to leave as Chie took the DVD case in her hands, "Stop right there! What did you do to my DVD!?"

Chie chased the bleak-looking boy down. I flinched when she delivered a powerful looking kick to the boy's groin.

The boy cried out in pain as Chie assessed the damages on her DVD, "What the!? I can't believe this! It is completely cracked…" Chie lamented. "My 'Trial of the Dragon'...!"

"I think mine's cracked too…" the boy groaned. "C-Critical hit to the nads…" He slunk down to the floor, holding his manhood.

Chie closed her case and made her way to the door, "Let's go, guys, I don't want to see this guy right now."

Yukiko followed Chie out the door. I paused to give the boy a sympathetic look before following after Chie and Yukiko.

.

.

.

.

Date: 04/12, Tuesday

Time: After School

Weather: Fog

Location: Yasogami High, Front Gate

We had made our way to the front gate when Chie's small talk was interrupted by a strange student approaching us.

"You're Yuki, right? Y-You want to go hang out somewhere?"

The boy looked to Yukiko expectantly with deep, dark, empty eyes. He wore a uniform that seemed to be from another school and his hair looked disheveled. He has a distinct beauty mark under his left eye. I felt bad that 'creepy' was the only word I could describe him as.

"What…? Wh-Who are you?" Yukiko said, sounding both confused and a bit panicked.

Voices of some students came from behind us.

"What's up with him? What school's he from?"

"Never mind that, he's going for Yukiko-san? Man, you'd think he'd at least wait until she's alone to make his move…"

"I bet you a can of TaP he gets knocked out."

"No bet. Haven't you heard how difficult the Amagi Challenge is?"

"Whatever man, I heard she was walking to school with some guy this morning. Some people say he's her secret boyfriend."

"What!? For real!?"

The strange student spoke up, sounding apprehensive, "Wh-What? Y-You have a boyfriend…?"

Yukiko seemed just as shocked as he did, "N-No... I don't have a..."

"...Fine!" the strange student suddenly shouted and ran away.

Yukiko turned to us, exasperated, "Wh-What did he want from me…?"

Chie gave Yukiko a look of shock, "What did he want…? Obviously, he was asking you out on a date," Chie shook her head. "But forget about that! What's this about you walking with some guy this morning? Do you really have a boyfriend?"

Yukiko quickly rejected the notion, "Wh-What? No! That was just a guest from the Inn. He's new to Inaba so I was showing him the layout as I walked to school."

Chie sighed with relief, "Oh, okay, I was worried there for a moment."

I think we were all caught up in the moment as we quickly turned our heads around the loud creaking of a bike.

"Yo, Yukiko-san. Turned down another lovelorn fool, huh?"

Besides the loud bike was the bleak-looking student that Chie left writhing on the ground of the classroom.

"Speaking of which, is it really true that guy you were with this morning isn't your boyfriend?"

Yukiko looked to the boy with an uninterested look, "Of course it's not true."

The boy's face suddenly lit up, "Whoa, you serious? So then, you wanna hang out sometime!?"

"I'd rather not," Yukiko returned quickly.

The boy's grin morphed into a frown, "That'll teach me to get my hopes up…"

A small smile quickly returned to the boy's face, "Anyways, you two better not pick on the transfer student too much."

As he rode away Chie stomped her feet and shouted after him, "We're just curious, is all!"

"U-Um, I'm sorry for dragging you into this…" Yukiko gave me an apologetic look.

Chie and I quickly took notice of the small crowd of students that formed behind us.

I finally spoke up, "We should get going, there's a lot of people staring."

I walked ahead as Chie and Yukiko followed.

'_Yep, it looks like my school life won't be quiet at all...'_

.

.

.

.

Date: 04/12, Tuesday

Time: After School

Weather: Fog

Location: Inaba Residential District

I followed Dojima out of the squad car and towards the crime scene. My morning had been uneventful but there had been a sudden call that a body had been discovered by a passing student.

"Just your luck, huh? The first day on the job and there's already a death," Dojima grumbled. "My other assistant, Adachi, should already be here so you'll have to make your introduction quick and get back to me."

I nodded to him as he went up to two other officers who were already moving the body. Dojima clasped his hands in prayer before lifting the cover. An unkempt looking man came up behind Dojima and caught a glimpse of the body. It must have been too much for him as he ran out of the crime scene with a hand over his mouth.

"Damnit, Adachi!" Dojima shouted after the man. "How long are you going to act like a rookie? You want to be sent back to the central office!?"

Dojima sighed and looked at me, "Well, that's Adachi, go check up on him for me will ya? And keep any citizens away from the scene."

I nodded and made my way over to the retching man. Before I could meet Adachi I was met with a group of teens, two of which looked familiar.

"Ah, Raidou-san!" Yukiko called to me.

The girl with the short hair and the guy with the gray hair both looked to Yukiko.

The short-haired girl spoke up first, "You know this guy, Yukiko?"

Yukiko nodded, "Yes, he's the one I was showing around Inaba this morning."

The short-haired girl looked to me, "Oh, I see…" she paused, looking me over. "Well, I'm Chie Satonaka, it's nice to meet you...I guess."

"Raidou Kuzunoha the 16th," I said with a short bow.

I turned to the boy with the gray hair, "I've seen you before, haven't I? At the train station, I think?"

The boy gave me a small smile, "Yes, you gave me the piece of paper I dropped, I'm Yu Narukami."

"Raidou! Adachi! What's taking you two so long?" Dojima called out to us.

He gave me a look before turning to Yu, "Hey, what're you doing here?"

"We're just passing by." Yu's response was brief.

Dojima groaned in annoyance, "Huh… I should have figured that'd happen. That damn principal. We told him not to let them through here…"

Chie turned to Yu, "You know this guy?"

Yu nodded as Dojima spoke up, "I'm Detective Dojima, his guardian. Uhh... Well, how should I say this… I hope you get along with him," Dojima then adopted a more serious tone. "But you three really ought to stop wandering around and head straight home."

Chie then pointed to me, "What about him?"

Dojima gestured to me, "Oh, this is Raidou, he's a trainee as well as my assistant."

Chie and Yu looked surprised, "Huh!? Really!?" Chie cried.

Yukiko stifled a giggle, "Yes, I had the exact same reaction when Raidou-san told me."

We were interrupted by the sound of horrible retching. Oh right, Adachi.

Dojima sighed, "Go wash your face. We're gonna go around and gather information!"

Dojima turned back to the crime scene as the three teens started walking away.

The unkempt man I assumed was Adachi came up to me, "Sorry you had to see that, that body looked disgusting."

I could finally see the man up-close. He wore a black suit with a long-sleeve white shirt, a crooked red tie, and brown field shoes. His hair was black and he had gray eyes. Yep, even up-close he could only be described as 'unkempt'.

"You must be Raidou, huh?" he asked. "I'm Tohru Adachi, Dojima-san's assistant, er… First assistant now, I guess."

I smiled at his antics, he didn't look like much of a detective, "I'm Raidou Kuzunoha the 16th," I bowed. "It's nice to meet you Adachi-senpai."

Adachi's eyes widened, "S-Senpai!?"

I gave him a confused look, "Huh? Do you want to be referred to as something else?"

Adachi quickly shook his head, "N-no it's just that no one's ever called me 'senpai' before," Adachi placed a hand on my shoulder, looking pleased. "Don't worry Raidou-kun, Dojima's a bit of a slave driver, but I'll protec-"

Suddenly Dojima came from behind Adachi and smacked him over the head.

"I thought I told you to keep your introduction short," Dojima looked to me. "Well, anyway, let's get back to the crime scene so you get the details."

Adachi nursed his wound as me and him followed behind Dojima.

Dojima turned to us and handed me a small notebook, "Here, Raidou, I want you taking notes," I opened up the notebook and retrieved a pen. "The victim is confirmed to be Mayumi Yamano, you know, the announcer? Her body was found hanging above a house, on the antenna. There were no external wounds found on the body so we'll have to wait for the coroner's report before we find the cause of death."

Dojima sighed, pulling out a cigarette, "That's about it for now, the mysteries just keep piling up."

Adachi chimed in, "What are we going to do now, Dojima-san?"

"Me and you are gonna go gather some information," Dojima looked to me. "You can take off if you want to Raidou, you can hang around but I doubt you'll find much."

Dojima started to walk away with Adachi in tow, "Just make sure to be at the station on time tomorrow and report to me if you find anything."

Adachi waved me goodbye as he followed behind Dojima.

"We're alone now, Gouto."

Gouto appeared from a nearby alley, "Finally, we can now begin our own investigation, Jousei."

I had sent Gouto to scout around the town when the rain had cleared up in the morning.

"Did you find anything of interest?" I asked.

"No, not really, this town is as small and boring as they say," Gouto sighed. "But I'm sure you already noticed something pretty alarming already, haven't you, Jousei?"

"There's been no sign of demons," I said sharply.

"Right, I haven't seen a single demon around here, neither have I seen a way to enter the Dark Realm."

"If that's true, does that mean this murder has nothing to do with what we're here for?" I wondered.

Gouto thought for a second, "No, this murder must be somewhat involved with what the Herald sent us here for, I just feel like we're missing something."

I reached into my cloak and pulled out a metal tube, "Maybe one of my demons could help us with our questions."

The top of the tube slowly started to turn as green light spilled out, "Come! Moh Shuvuu!"

The green light exploded and revealed the form of a small, flying girl. She wore a small red dress, brown mittens, and brown snow boots. Her long hair turned upwards and flapped like wings as he hovered in front of me.

"Oh, hello Raidou," she said in a sweet voice. "It's been too long since you last summoned me!"

"I apologize, Moh Shuvuu, but I require your ability to fly so that we can scout out for suspicious people," I asked Moh Shuvuu, kindly.

Moh Shuvuu huffed, "Fine! Just make sure to summon me more often, 'kay!"

I nodded as Moh Shuvuu flew into the sky, darting back and forth quickly over the Residential District.

Moh Shuvuu quickly returned with a concerned expression, "What's the deal with this place? I haven't seen a single demon."

"Yes, we know," Gouto interrupted. "Just tell us if you've seen somebody acting weird."

"As rude as always, Gouto," Moh Shuvuu whined. "It was hard to see much else because of the fog, but there was some boy in a student uniform quivering and mumbling to himself not far from here."

I smiled, "Thank you, Moh Shuvuu, I'll make sure to summon you more often, okay?"

I held up the tube and called her back, "'Kay, you promise, right?"

"I promise," I said as she vanished back inside of the tube.

Gouto sighed, "Let's go see what this boy is mumbling about, Jousei."

It wasn't long before we met the boy in question. Just as Moh Shuvuu described, the boy was quivering and was mumbling something incomprehensible under his breath.

"...Was that...I thought she was... Soulmate?"

I walked up to the boy and gave him a reassuring smile, "Are you oka-"

"Get away from me!" the boy yelled out. "I just wanna be left alone…"

I stepped away as he returned to his mumbling.

"This kid is nuts," Gouto said. "Looks like we'll need another one of your demons to help figure out what this kids' saying."

I nodded and reached back inside of my cloak, pulling out another tube, "Mokoi! Come on out!"

The green light once again spilled out from the tube and Mokoi appeared before me. A green, stumpy looking creature looked at me with beady white eyes. He wore only a loincloth and held a boomerang with what you could barely call his hand.

The little creature started laughing as he approached me, "Hey Raidou! It's nice to see you again," he continued his shrill laugh. "What did you need me for?"

I pointed over to the mumbling boy, "I want you to read his mind and tell me what he's thinking."

Mokoi put his other stump to his head, "Sure thing, boss, it's easy as pie reading the minds of the stupid humans!"

The thoughts of the boy soon overtook my own.

'They said the body was Mayumi Yamano! I saw her last night on that _**Midnight Channel**_! Damnit! I thought she was gonna be my soulmate!'

His thoughts ended there and I took back control of my mind.

"Thank you, Mokoi, that'll be all for now."

Mokoi returned to the tube and now only me and Gouto were left.

"_**Midnight Channel**_?" Gouto repeated with intrigue. "Have you heard anything about it, Jousei?"

I shook my head, still processing the boy's thoughts.

"Hmm… It doesn't seem like we'll get much else out of him," Gouto yawned. "Let's return to the Inn, Jousei, Dojima already said you're free to go home."

I nodded as Gouto and I made our way back home.

.

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.

.

Date: 04/12, Tuesday

Time: Evening

Weather: Fog

Location: Amagi Inn

Me and Gouto arrived inside the main lobby and were greeted by a familiar girl.

"Oh, Raidou-san, welcome back," Yukiko walked up to me, wearing the same pink kimono as yesterday.

"Hello Yukiko-san," I greeted her. "Are you also working today?"

"Yes, I try to help my mom out as much as I can, so I work most days," she paused, looking slightly sad. "Anyway, you were helping Detective Dojima with that crime scene, right? What happened?"

I made my face stone and lowered my voice, "Sorry, madam, but that information is classified."

Me and Yukikio shared a laugh before she turned away, "Anyway, Raidou-san, dinner for the guests is almost ready. Will you be joining us or would you like it sent to your room?"

"Just send it to my room, Yukiko-san," she nodded, but before she could turn away I called after her again. "Yukiko-san, may I ask you something?"

Yukiko turned to me with a puzzled look on her face, "Yes?"

"Have you heard of the _**Midnight Channel**_?"

Yukiko seemed surprised, but soon collected herself, "Oh, yes, my friend Chie asked me to try it, but I haven't found the time to."

"Do you know what it entails?"

"Well… Chie said that if you look into a TV that's switched off, alone, exactly at midnight on a rainy night and while staring at the TV, another person will appear on the screen… I think Chie said that the person on the screen is your soulmate or something like that," Yukiko smiled at me. "Sorry I'm not really into stuff like that but Chie seemed pretty interested in it."

I moved away from her, "That's fine, Yukiko-san, thanks for sharing with me."

"Are you returning to your room Raidou-san?" Yukiko asked. "Well, your dinner will be sent to your room when it's ready, goodnight."

.

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Date: 04/12, Tuesday

Time: Evening

Weather: Fog

Location: Raidou's Room

After finishing my dinner, I found myself staring at my reflection in the small TV. I must have been lost deep in my thoughts as I didn't hear Gouto come up from behind me.

"Looks like we have a lot to think about, huh, Jousei?"

I simply nodded before standing up and changing into more comfortable clothes.

"Unfortunately, we won't be able to try that _**Midnight Channel**_ thing," Gouto lamented. "Hopefully it'll rain soon so we can see what's the deal with it."

I turned out the lights in my room and soon fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

AN: And that's the third chapter, thank you for reading! Remember to comment to just share some things that I could possibly improve on for later chapters.

Writing is a lot harder than I thought, I had originally intended for another double chapter release but I didn't manage my time too well, hopefully chapter 4 will be finished by Monday.

I always get a little mad when a fanfic I like goes unfinished so even though the task seems daunting, I'll do my best to update consistently and finish this fic, I already have quite a bit just laid out in simple notes.

I'll probably get more into the demons that Raidou has in the next chapter, but most of them will come from his skills in Nocturne Maniax as well as his cameo fight in Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers.


	4. Case 4: The Midnight Channel

Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Fog of Inaba

Case 4: The Midnight Channel

Date: 04/13, Wednesday

Time: Early Morning

Weather: Cloudy

Location: Inaba Residential District, Near Yasogami High

My silent morning walk to school abruptly ended when a noisy bike sped past me, soon followed by a loud crash. When I investigated the aftermath I was met with quite the spectacle. The cyclist somehow lodged himself inside of a trash can and was now rolling on the ground, his bike laid sprawled out not far from him. None of the other students so much as looked towards the scene and if they did, they didn't make their concern or interest known. I couldn't help but chuckle at the ridiculous scene and lack of reaction from the students.

"Hey!" the rolling trash can called out. "I know you're there! Stop laughing and help me!"

Feeling bad for laughing at him, and the fact that no one else seemed to care, I moved towards him and carefully slid him out of the trash can.

I was met with a familiar face, the bleak-looking student who suffered Chie's punishment yesterday.

"Whew, you saved me. Thanks! Umm…" He trailed off, obviously trying to recall my name.

"It's Yu Narukami," I said with a smile.

"Oh yeah, sorry, I don't think you got to say your name during your introduction yesterday."

My smile immediately dropped as I remembered my horrendous introduction.

The boy's introduction brought me out of my misery, "I'm Yosuke Hanamura. Nice to meet ya."

"Nice to meet you too, are you okay?"

Yosuke smiled at my concern, "Oh yeah, yeah, I'm fine."

His smile seemed infectious as I soon found my smile returning.

"Say, did you hear about the incident from yesterday?" Yosuke questioned. "They found that announcer lady hanging from an antenna!"

Before I could answer, Yosuke continued, "You think it was some kinda warning? There's no way something that weird could've been an accident."

Yosuke finally gave me some room to speak, "I think you might be right."

"Dangling a dead body over a roof like that… That's just messed up. Then again, it's pretty messed up to kill someone in the first place."

I decided to interrupt his ramblings, "Hey, I hate to interrupt, but I think we're going to be late."

"Oh crap, you're right!"

Yosuke turned his bike around and looked back at me, "You wanna ride? It's a little squeaky, but it should be fine."

I sighed in resignation and hopped on, "Why not?"

.

.

.

.

Date: 04/13, Wednesday

Time: After School

Weather: Cloudy

Location: Yasogami High

The school day passed with no event and I sat in my desk, preparing my things to go home. Yosuke stood up from the desk behind me, yawning and stretching.

He walked over to me, "So, you getting used to this place?"

"Yeah," I simply replied.

"Wow, that was fast," Yosuke said, surprise etched on his face. "There isn't much to do here compared to the big city, but there is that certain… something you can't get anywhere else."

Yosuke paused to think before continuing his thoughts, "The air's clean, the food's great… Oh, you know about the local delicacy?"

I shook my head and Yosuke continued, "It's grilled steak, man! Like that's anything special, huh?"

"I know a place where you can get it cheap. Wanna come?" Yosuke offered. "You helped me out this morning, so it's on me."

Before I could accept, Chie strolled up to Yosuke, not even attempting to hide her annoyance, "What about me, huh? No apologies? My 'Trial of the Dragon.'"

Yosuke seemed to become disheartened, "Urgh… You always come around when I'm talking about food…"

Chie looked over to Yukiko, who had been silently packing her things, "How about it, Yukiko? Don't you think he should treat us, too?"

Yukiko finished preparing her things and stood up, "I'll pass… I don't want to gain any more weight. I need to help out at the inn today, anyway."

"Wow, Yukiko-san! You started taking over the business?" Yosuke questioned.

Yukiko shook her head, "It's not like that! I'm just helping out when it gets busy."

"Well, I should be on my way," Yukiko said as she made her way to the door.

"Oh well," Chie suddenly started. "We should get going too."

Yosuke jerked back in shock, "Huh? Do I seriously have to treat two people…?"

.

.

.

.

Date: 04/13, Wednesday

Time: After School

Weather: Cloudy

Location: Junes Food Court

The sickly sweet theme of Junes played throughout the intercom system as me and Chie waited for Yosuke's return.

"THIS is the cheap place you were talking about…?" Chie said, agitated. "They don't have grilled steak here."

Yosuke placed a tray of drinks in the center of the table, "Yeah, well, once you hopped on the freeloader train, I had to change my plans.

"Still, that's no reason to take us to your place," Chie refuted.

"Dude, this isn't my place or anything."

Yosuke must've noticed my confusion as he looked over to me, "Oh, right. I haven't told you yet, huh? I moved here from another city about six months back. This location just opened up, and my dad was assigned to manage it. So our entire family came out here."

Yosuke finished his explanation and reached over to one of the drinks, "Here, this is to welcome you to town."

Chie and I also reached for our drinks and the three of us gave a toast. The three of us engaged in animated small talk, talking of nothing specific.

Chie soon brought up a specific topic, "It's only been half a year since this place opened up but I haven't been to the local shopping district much since. A lot of stores there started closing, and… Oh, uh…"

Chie soon quieted down as she saw Yosuke visibly frown, "...You can't blame it all on Junes, can you?"

The mood suddenly became sour as both Chie and Yosuke sighed. I tried to save it by changing the topic.

I looked over to Chie, "You're a good friend of Yukiko-san, right, Chie-chan?"

Chie looked up from the ground, free of her scowl, "Yeah, I would say so. What about it?"

"What did you think about that Raidou guy?"

Yosuke soon looked up as well, "Huh? Who're you talking about?"

Chie looked over to Yosuke, "He was the guy people saw walking with Yukiko yesterday morning. We saw him on our way home, at that crime scene where they found that announcer."

Yosuke seemed sucked into the conversation, "Seriously!? What was he like?"

Chie thought for a second before continuing, "Well I'm glad the rumors were untrue, not that I believed them or anything. Honestly, he seemed a bit… odd. His clothes looked pretty old and he had this mysterious aura around him."

"I wasn't expecting him to be a detective," I chimed in. "He doesn't look that much older than us."

"A detective!?" Yosuke said, as shocked as we were.

"Yeah, Detective Dojima said he's training under him," Chie answered.

Yosuke continued to question Chie, before abruptly turning away to look at something.

"Hey… It's Saki-senpai! Sorry, be right back," Yosuke said as he rose from his chair.

I followed where to where Yosuke was walking and saw a girl. The girl had thick long wavy light-brown hair and brown eyes. She wore faded navy jeans, navy shoes, and an employee apron over a long-sleeved white shirt.

I looked over to Chie, "Who's that?"

"Oh, that's Saki Konishi. Her family runs a liquor store in the shopping district," Chie answered. "... I think she's working here part-time, though."

I looked over to Yosuke as he approached her from behind, "Hey, how's it going? You look beat."

Saki looked up to Yosuke, revealing her tired expression, "Heeey! I'm finally on break… What's up, Hana-chan? Boosting the family business by bringing your friends here?"

Yosuke brought his hand to his chest, feigning distraught, "Madam, you wound me!"

He dropped his theatrics and looked back to Saki, "Kidding aside… You look down. Did something happen?"

Saki sighed, "...It's nothing. I'm just a little tired."

"Hey, if you need to talk, I'm always willing to listen. I…"

Before Yosuke could finish his thought, Saki chuckled, "I'm okay. Thanks though."

Saki said something under her breath before her eyes met mine, "Hey… is he the kid who transferred here?"

Saki stood up from her chair and made her way towards me, Yosuke following close behind.

"Are you the transfer student?"

I nodded, "You must be Saki Konishi."

Saki chuckled, "Oh, did you hear about me already? It must be nice to have someone else from the big city to talk to, huh? I don't see Hana-chan hanging out with the other guys much."

Yosuke flinched at Saki's words, "N-Not necessarily…"

"He doesn't have too many friends, so I hope you two get along good."

Yosuke held a nervous smile as Saki continued, "Hana-chan's a good guy, but he can get nosy sometimes. You gotta tell him right to his face when he starts to annoy you."

I raised my eyebrow at her, "Nah, he's a great guy."

Saki laughed, "I know… I'm just kidding."

Yosuke still held his nervous smile, "C-C'mon, Senpai. There's no need to worry about something like that."

Saki looked back towards Yosuke, "Well, my break's just about over. Back to work I go…"

Saki started to walk away as Yosuke sat back down.

Yosuke laughed, "Saki-senpai says I'm annoying, but she's even nosier than me. She has a younger brother, and she treats me pretty much the same way..."

A smug smile spread over Chie's face, "Ohhh, you don't want her treating you like a brother, huh? Oh, I get it… So that's how it is…"

"The daughter of a local family-run liquor store and the scion of the invading chain," Chie said, making animated hand gestures. "The flame of forbidden love!"

Yosuke blushed, "Wha-!? Dude, it's not like that."

Chie continued to tease Yosuke, "Oh reaaaally… Well, I know the thing to cheer up that lovesick heart."

She paused, dramatically, and lowered her voice, "You ever hear of the Midnight Channel? You're supposed to look into a TV that's switched off, alone, exactly at midnight on a rainy night. While you're staring at your own image, another person will appear on the screen...And they say that person's your soul mate."

Yosuke scoffed, "What? For a second, I thought you were actually going to say something useful… How can you get all excited over such a childish urban legend like that?"

Chie pouted, "Childish, huh? You don't believe it, do you!?"

"Of course I don't!"

Chie seemed fed up, "Well, it's raining tonight! Let's all try it out, then you'll see!"

Yosuke gaped at her, "Try it out…? Wait, you haven't even tried it yourself!?"

He leaned back in his chair, looking exasperated, "Wow, I'm trying to remember the last time I heard something this stupid…"

Yosuke trailed off before leaning back forward, "All that aside… You saw that Raidou guy at that crime scene right? He was there investigating that 'incident' yesterday, right? You guys think it was murder?"

Yosuke smiled and made a spooky voice, "Ooh, what if the culprit behind it was still lurking around…? Heehee…"

Chie was unimpressed by Yosuke's antics, "Sheesh, you shouldn't joke about stuff like that. Now who's the childish one…? All I am saying is, you guys better try it out tonight."

I finally broke my silence, "Alright, I guess I'm down to try it."

Yosuke sputtered, "Wha-!? Seriously, dude?"

Chie smiled, "Welp, I guess that's settled let's head home now. It looks like the rain is about to start."

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Date: 04/13, Wednesday

Time: Evening

Weather: Rain

Location: Dojima Residence

The rain poured outside as I had another dinner alone with Nanako.

I decided to break the silence, "Did your father call?"

Nanako stared into her dinner, disappointment etched onto her face, "No. He always says he will…"

I looked down, still not knowing how to handle Nanako. Thankfully our silent dinner ended when the sound of the front door sliding open resounded throughout the house.

Nanako suddenly brightened as she rose to her feet, "Oh! He's home!"

Dojima slowly walked towards us, tiredness filled his voice as he spoke, "What a day… I'm back. Did anything happen while I was out?"

Nanako shook her head, "No. You're late again."

Dojima looked at Nanako, apologetically, "I'm sorry… Been busy at work. Not even another assistant can lighten my workload."

Dojima quickly plopped himself on the couch, "Can you put the news on for me?"

Nanako sighed before sitting back down and turning on the TV.

"Next, more details in the developing story on the incident in foggy Inaba. Announcer Mayumi Yamano's dead body was found hanging above a house in this isolated rural town. It is confirmed that Ms. Yamano had been involved in an affair with Taro Namatame, husband of enka singer Misuzu Hiiragi."

Dojima yawned as the follow-up report about the incident yesterday continued, "The police plan to investigate this relationship and question any personnel involved with them. In addition, we now bring you an exclusive interview with the local student who found Ms. Yamano's body."

Dojima looked surprised for a moment and then sighed, "An interview with the kid…? Where the hell did they find her?"

The image of the reporter soon switched to an image of a girl, her face was blurred out but her school uniform and long wavy brown hair looked familiar.

"What went through your mind when you saw it? Could you tell she was dead? Did you see her face?"

The reporter's enthusiasm about the subject seemed to perplex the girl as she tried to keep up with his questions. The girl was barely able to answer any of the man's questions before the feed was once again switched to a pair of commentators.

"It really is a bizarre case, isn't it? I mean hanging someone upside down from an antenna… I'd have to say it's a warning or a sign from the culprit."

"Yes, but so far, no one has come forward to take credit for the crime."

"So the cause of death is still unknown? And they don't have a single suspect yet? Taxpayers' funds are going to a police force who can't even figure out if this is an accident or a homicide?"

Dojima grunted as the report cut away to some messages.

"At Junes, every day is Customer Appreciation Day, Come see for yourself and get in touch with our products! Every day's great at your Junes!"

Nanako repeated the theme song, "Every day's great at your Junes! Hey Dad… Can we go to Junes together sometime?"

Nanako's question was only met with the sound of Dojima's snoring.

Nanako sighed, "Geez…"

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Date: 04/13, Wednesday

Time: Evening

Weather: Rain

Location: Yu's Room

I sat alone in my dark room, listening to the sounds of rain hit my windows and the crashing of thunder.

I wondered to myself aloud, "'Your soul mate appears if you look in the TV', huh? I wonder if Chie's story is true."

I got up to have a closer look at the TV, seeing only my reflection.

I laughed, "Huh, guess not,"

Before I could lay down the sounds of static coming from behind me made me turn back around to my small TV. Flashes of a girl in a familiar school uniform and wavy hair appeared on the TV.

My ears began to ring as a familiar sensation began to wrap around my mind

"_**I am thou…"**_

A voice suddenly sounded out within my mind.

"_**Thou art I…"**_

I started to grip my head as nausea and pain swam through my mind.

"_**Thou art the one who opens the door…"**_

I was brought to my knees in front of the TV as the pain became too much to bear. My body started to move on its own as I rose to my feet looking at my reflection on the TV. My hand reached out to touch it, not expecting what would happen next. The TV rippled with light as I tapped it. I then reached into it, feeling my arm sink into it as if the screen was water. Suddenly I felt like I was being pulled in further by something on the other side. My head was sucked in but thankfully the TV was too small for the rest of my body to be pulled in. With one good push, I fell out of the TV and fell, slamming my head on my table…

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Date: 04/13, Wednesday

Time: Evening

Weather: Rain

Location: Raidou's Room

Once I had gotten to my room I began to settle in for the night. The investigation had been mentally draining and the investigators found themselves left with only more questions regarding the death of Mayumi Yamano. Maybe I should have known from the start that this case wasn't going to be solved by conventional means.

Before I could slip into a deep sleep, Gouto pounced onto my chest, "Ah, ah, ah, Jousei. You can't sleep now, It's raining pretty hard outside. We should try out that Midnight Channel thing."

I grunted before sliding off my covers and walking over to the small TV. This Midnight Channel thing was the only real lead we had connecting this town to the supernatural. There must be more to it than just 'seeing your soul mate'.

I leaned close to the TV, looking deeply into the black mirror. The clock finally struck twelve and the TV began to flash with a series of images. The only noticeable features of the girl I could make out were the uniform of Yasogami High and her wavy brown hair. The TV soon shut off before I could make any further observations.

I began to lose myself in thought over what I had just witnessed before I was interrupted by Gouto's hiss, "Get away from that TV, Jousei! Something about the energy coming from it is oddly similar to the energy that pulsates from the _**Dark Realm!**_"

I could barely internalize Gouto's word before a massive wave of nausea and pain wracked my mind.

"_**I am thou…"**_

The words entered my mind, from no particular origin.

"_**Thou art I…"**_

The words sent another wave of pain and nausea, making me grip my head.

"_**Thou art the one who protects this world…" **_

The pain soon subsided from my mind and I began to become aware of my surroundings. I found my hand reaching to touch the TV screen before I could retract my hand, it sunk inside of the screen.

"Jousei!" Gouto screamed for me while biting the cuff of my pants.

My sinking hand was soon pulled in by a mysterious force, but fortunately, I gained control of my body soon enough to grip the edge of the TV. With one pull, my hand exited the TV and I fell over, hitting my head on the table in the center of my room.

Gouto rushed to my side, "Are you alright Jousei? What happened?"

I started to speak with reluctance, "I'm not too sure myself, I just lost control of both my mind and my body."

Gouto looked toward the TV, "It's a good thing this TV's pretty small, I doubt you could have had your body pulled in."

Gouto looked back to me and continued, "While exploring this place I saw a pretty big TV in the lobby, but we've had enough excitement for one day haven't we, Jousei?"

I nodded my head, "Right, we should prepare before beginning our investigation. We should get some rest for now though, we still have to report with Dojima-san in the morning."

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Date: 04/14, Thursday

Time: Morning

Weather: Rain

Location: Inaba Police Station

"Ah, you're finally here," Dojima greeted me as I entered his office. "We're gonna start early today, Raidou."

Dojima laid out a missing persons' poster on the table in front of me. There was an image of a girl that took over most of the space on the paper. She had brown wavy hair, brown eyes, and wore the school uniform of Yasogami High. Gouto jumped on the table to get a look as well, much to Dojima's annoyance.

Dojima swatted Gouto off the table before starting, "This is Saki Konishi, her parents reported her missing last night. Her parents run a liquor store in the shopping district, she attends Yasogami high as a 3rd year, and she works part-time at Junes. Most importantly, she was the one to discover the body of Mayumi Yamano."

I narrowed my eyes at Dojima, "You think her disappearance has to do with the murder?"

Dojima sighed, "Maybe, maybe not. Either way, she's still a missing person and we've been tasked to find her."

Dojima grabbed a stack of identical missing posters and handed them to me.

"I already have Adachi posting some in the residential district, I want you to post these in the shopping district. Oh, and while you're at it, I'd like you to ask around her workplace for anything that could help find her. You understand?"

I nodded my head as Gouto and I made our way out of Dojima's office.

As we strode out of the station, Gouto spoke up, "That girl… She looks similar to the one we saw on that Midnight Channel, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I wonder what that Midnight Channel thing really is…"

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Date: 04/14, Thursday

Time: After School

Weather: Rain

Location: Junes, Electronics department

Gouto and I found ourselves in Junes, looking for a 'Yosuke Hanamura'. We had finished plastering the missing posters and had gone to Junes to talk to Saki Konishi's co-workers. No substantial evidence came to light, but the manager had pointed us to his son who was on friendly terms with Konishi. We searched around Junes and eventually came to the electronics department.

Gouto pointed his head toward a group of teens crowded around a large flat-screen TV, "That boy on the right fits the description the manager gave."

I looked towards the teens and was met with some familiar faces. In the middle was Chie Satonaka and towards her left was Yu Narukami. Chie and the boy who I assumed was Yosuke moved away to look at other TV's while Yu stayed in front of the large flat-screen TV. I started making my way toward them when something most unexpected happened. Yu reached over towards the TV and stuck his hand to the screen, sinking in.

Gouto's eyes widened as he looked up to me, "Wait, Jousei, we should see how this plays out before making a move."

I nodded to him as I found a place to hide, away from their sight. Yosuke and Chie must have noticed Yu's predicament as they crowded around him. Yu seemed to become more bold as he stuck his head inside the TV. Both Chie and Yosuke began to panic, running around before colliding into Yu causing the three of them to stumble into the TV.

Gouto's look of worry soon transformed into a look of disbelief and disappointment, "Did that really just happen…?"

"Forget their incompetence, Gouto, we've got to help them," I said as I made my way to the TV.

"Wait, Jousei, as I've said before, that place feels similar to the Dark Realm. Unfortunately, you don't have any of your weapons on you right now. They may be in danger but we won't be able to save them if we die because we weren't properly prepared."

I sighed, restraining myself from leaping into the TV after them, "You're right, Gouto, then let's hurry to collect my things so we can save those idiots."

I pulled out a metal tube from my chest and called out, "Come, Moh Shuvuu," Moh Shuvuu appeared and I stopped her before she could talk. "This isn't the time, Moh Shuvuu, I want you to follow after those kids and alert me if any danger comes their way. Remember to keep your distance from them."

Moh Shuvuu quickly nodded and rushed inside the TV after them. Gouto and I rushed to my room at the Amagi inn to collect my katana and revolver before rushing back to the TV in Junes and diving in…

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Date: 04/14, Thursday

Time: After School

Weather: ?

Location: Inside the TV?

As I saw the ground approaching I rolled on my side and landed on my feet, crouching and observing my surroundings. The whole place was obscured by a thick fog but from what I could make out the entire place looked like some sort of TV studio. On the ground looked to be a large black and white target with the outlines of bodies laying over the target.

I looked for Gouto in the fog, "Hey, Gouto, are you alright?"

Gouto appeared from the fog in front of me, "Yes, yes, I'm quite alright."

I smirked, "Yeah, I guess I was worried for nothing. Cat's do always land on their feet, isn't that right, Gouto?"

"I don't appreciate your lazy humor, Jousei," Gouto hissed. "This isn't the time to be joking around either! We have to find those kids."

"Don't worry, I sent Moh Shuvuu after them, remember?" I assured Gouto before calling out to Moh Shuvuu. "Moh Shuvuu, can you hear me?"

Moh Shuvuu's voice sounded out in my mind, "Loud and clear, Raidou!"

I sighed with relief, "Have you caught up with them? Are they okay? Where are you?"

"These kids are okay," Moh Shuvuu assured me. "They seem to be in some apartment building just standing around."

I nodded, "Alright, just stay with them, Gouto and I are on our way."

Moh Shuvuu's voice disappeared from my mind as I beckoned over to Gouto, "Moh Shuvuu found them, let's go."

Before I could move any further Gouto's voice halted me, "Wait, Jousei, something is coming from the fog…"

A bulbous shadow stood before me, shrouded by the fog. It quickly finished coming into my sight where I could see it clearly. It appeared similar to a mascot costume or a stuffed bear, it wore a red and white striped jumpsuit with a noticeable zipper dividing the head from the body.

"What is this thing?" I questioned aloud. "A demon?"

A shrill voice called out from the bear, "That's what I want to know! Who are you? Do you know those other guys that came in?"

I was surprised by its voice before regaining my composure, "I'm Raidou Kuzunoha the 16th, may I ask you what is this place?"

The bear seemed surprised by my own voice as it took a moment before talking, "U-Um… This place is what it is. It doesn't have a name. It's where I live."

"Where you live?" I questioned? "So are you a demon?"

The bear shook in anger at my question, "W-What, no!? Teddie is Teddie!"

Teddie stopped shaking in anger and looked at me with as serious of a face he could muster, "If I were you, I'd hurry back to the other side. Someone's been throwing people in here. It's a big headache."

"Throwing people in? What do you mean?"

My question seemed to anger Teddie again as he started stomping his foot, "I dunno who's doing it! I just want them to think before they go doing something like that!"

I thought about Teddie's words but was soon alerted by Moh Shuvuu's voice, "This is bad Raidou! These things are prowling around near those kids and they don't look like any demon I've ever seen!"

I was brought out of my thoughts and turned away from Teddie, "Sorry, Teddie, but there are some kids in here that need my help."

"W-Wait!" Teddie called out to me. "You won't get anywhere in this fog! Here put these on."

Teddie handed me sleek, crimson glasses and I put them on, "The fog… It's gone."

"Thank you, Teddie, but I've still got to hurry."

I once again started speeding to Moh Shuvuu's position, Gouto and Teddie following close behind me.

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I found myself in a courtyard of sorts that was surrounded by tall apartment complexes. Three odd floating orbs surrounded the bodies of Yu, Chie, and Yosuke.

Moh Shuvuu quickly flew over to me, "Those things appeared when they tried to leave and attacked them! I think they're alive, but they won't be for long if those things continue to attack!"

Teddie spoke up from behind me, "T-Those things are the S-Shadows! Those guys are doomed, doomed!"

"Jousei!" Gouto also called out. "You know what to do! Show that your training wasn't for nothing!"

I quickly ran to one of the orbs, katana in my right hand and my revolver in my left, and slashed clean through one of the orbs. Both the top and bottom portions dissipated into nothing. The two other orbs floated closer to me and I could finally see what they looked like. It was striped with a psychedelic pink and a deep black. It had large red lips with an equally large, black, tongue. One more of the 'Shadows', as Teddie called them, rushed at me and just another slash of my katana split the Shadow in two. I couldn't stop my increasingly growing smile as it spread across my face. They were weak. Just like I like them.

Gouto sighed from behind me, "I didn't know you would take such pleasure in this kind of thing... Well, whatever, just finish the last one!"

The one soon became ten as more of the floating orbs appeared from nowhere, "Great, Gouto, you jinxed it. Not that I'm complaining, even I would find it boring if I only got to kill three!"

I threw myself at the group of Shadows, slicing at them with my katana horizontally. I had managed to hit three as they all became divided into two parts and dissipated into nothing. The other seven surrounded me as they each took turns meeting the same fate. One managed to bite my katana, but I quickly brought my revolver to its body. Each shot-blasted more black gunk away from it as it was soon reduced to nothing. Even more of the Shadows flooded out of the apartment buildings. Soon more than fifty surrounded me, Gouto, Teddie, and Moh Shuvuu.

"T-This is s-so many!" Teddie cried out. "W-We should grab those three and leave!"

Even though I tried to restrain it, a low laugh spilled from my lips, "What? Scared of these weaklings? Even a Ghoul would put up a better fight."

I readied my blade behind my head as the Shadows came barreling towards me, with one swift spin, I brought my sword through the crowd of them. They gave no resistance and that one slash cut their numbers in at least half, and the other half was blown away by sheer force. Even more, came to fill the void I had left and they now had a couple hundred in numbers.

"Well, well, well… Looks like I might need some help after all," I said as I reached for another metal tube. "Alright, come on out! Mokoi!"

Mokoi appeared from a green light, "Alright! We finally get to kill something!"

I looked back to Moh Shuvuu, "I'm relying on you too, ya know?"

"Of course! Anything for you, Raidou!"

All of them came at us at once, again, but they didn't get far when Moh Shuvuu released a torrent of strong wind around us. The wind sliced those close enough in pieces and pushed back the others far away. Some of them even ended up slamming into the buildings or the ground, becoming nothing more than black splatters of goo. Mokoi used this opportunity to throw his boomerang towards the remaining Shadows. Moh Shuvuu's wind guided the boomerang and one by one each of the remaining Shadows burst from the force of the boomerang. More Shadows began to burst from the windows of the apartments and even from the ground. They created a tornado of black and pink as they flew into the sky before trying to crash down on us.

"Hmm…" I reached into my coat, pulling out another tube. "Looks like you'll be able to have some fun as well… Come! Yoshitsune!"

A man appeared from the green light of the tube, he looked like a traditional Japanese shogun with red armor and holding a blade in each hand. His most striking feature was the red scar over his closed left eye.

"Calling me so early, Raidou?"

I smirked towards Yoshitsune, "I just thought you might appreciate the opportunity to stretch your legs."

Yoshitsune laughed heartily, "You're so kind, Raidou, thank you for this opportunity. I'll make the most of it!"

The torrent of Shadows was quickly approaching from above us and Teddie, who was previously admiring my Demons, began to cower again, "T-This is the end!"

Yoshitsune's left eye began to open, revealing a bright red eye underneath. He quickly took to the sky and met the Shadows head-on. Lightning began to surround Yoshitsune and even as his two blades tore through the Shadows, lightning bolts would spray from his body and vaporize hundreds of Shadows at a time.

He reached the apex of the torrent of Shadows and called to me, "I'll let you land the finishing blow, Raidou."

I chuckled and turned to Moh Shuvuu, "If you would be so kind as to help me get to him."

Moh Shuvuu simply nodded and wind gathered underneath my feet, creating a small cyclone as I quickly zoomed through the air. I held my blade out and became synced with the spinning of the cyclone, and as I ascended towards Yoshitsune, even more Shadows were cut down.

The cyclone gave out as soon as I locked eyes with Yoshitsune, "Go on, Raidou, take my lightning."

As he said that I held my blade to the air and it was struck with Yoshitsune's lightning, coating the blade with crackling lightning. I started to plunge through the Shadows at an alarming rate. Any Shadow that got to close would be cut down and even ones far away were struck with the occasional lightning straying from my blade. As I soon reached the ground, I plunged the sword into where I landed. The sound of metal crashing into rock resounded throughout the area and lightning began to spill out from the massive cracks created by my landing. Large bolts of lightning crackled through what remained of the Shadows. It was over.

I recalled my Demons to their tubes before looking over the state of this area. What was once a courtyard surrounded by apartment complexes was now a smoldering crater that surrounded the piece of land that we were still on. The apartment buildings had crumbled into themselves.

I turned to a star-struck Teddie and a disapproving Gouto, "We should get these three back to the entrance."

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I decided to watch them from afar as Teddie explained where they were. They must've had many questions, but Teddie ushered them out as fast as he could. He created a tower of three TVs stacked on top of each other and pushed them in, assumedly back to safety.

I walked out from my hiding space with Gouto, "You did good, Teddie."

Teddie ran over to me, stars still in his eyes, "N-No you did excellent today, Sensei! I've never seen someone able to take on the Shadow like that! Especially that many at a time!"

I was a little thrown off by Teddie's enthusiasm, "T-There's no need to call me 'Sensei', Raidou should be fine. Did you do what I asked?"

Teddie puffed out his chest, "Yes I did, Raidou-sensei, but why would you ask me not to tell them about you."

I crouched down to meet Teddie's eyes, "I bailed them out this time, but I want to see their own strength. They won't be able to gain that if I keep babying them."

I stood up and made my way towards the stack of TVs, "That doesn't mean I won't be watching over them, so I'd like you, Teddie, to keep my presence a secret."

With that, I entered the TV and returned to Inaba.

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Date: 04/14, Thursday

Time: Evening

Weather: Rain

Location: Amagi Inn

When I returned to the Amagi Inn I was greeted by an unpleasant sight. Cameras and microphones surrounded her as a noisy reporter was throwing questions at a distressed Yukiko.

"You're in high school and you run the Inn?"

"You look good in that kimono!"

"Is it true that Mayumi Yamano stayed at your inn?"

Yukiko was trying her best to keep up with the odd questions being thrown at her. She seemed to notice my presence as she tried to signal for my help.

I pulled out my badge and sent a menacing glare towards the press, "I'm Raidou Kuzunoha the 16th with the Inaba Police Department. I would ask that you stop your interview before we even get to ask our questions for Amagi-san."

That seemed to scare them as they quickly packed their things and left the inn.

Yukiko sighed in relief, "Thank you, Raidou-san, my mother hasn't been feeling well ever since the death of Mayumi Yamano. That's why I decided to answer their questions rather than have my mother handle it."

I shook my head and flashed a small smile, "It's nothing, Yukiko-san, just helping a friend out."

"Well, I'm gonna turn in early," I yawned. "You should be careful, you wouldn't want to crumble under the stress as well."

Yukiko waved goodbye as Gouto and I made our way to my room.

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Date:04/14, Thursday

Time: Evening

Weather: Rain

Location: Raidou's Room

I had begun to settle in for the night when Gouto decided to ask an unexpected question, "The reason you gave to that bear, about not wanting to reveal yourself to those kids, it's not the real reason is it?"

I chuckled, "You're finally beginning to understand me, Gouto. You're half right in assuming that it was a lie."

Gouto raised an eyebrow, "So what is the real reason?"

I began to explain myself to Gouto, "Those kids are entering a world unknown to them, just as those who take the title of Raidou Kuzunoha have for ages. Even if they don't realize it yet, they're going to become protectors of this town as well. That's, of course, assuming that they even go back to that place, but it's in that way I want to see their strength grow. Do you understand?"

Gouto sighed, "I guess, but even so, I feel like your still not giving me the entire truth."

"Think what you want Gouto," I said as I started to lie down. "We should be getting to bed."

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Date: 04/15, Friday

Time: Early Morning

Weather: Rain

Location: Inaba Police Station

I quickly made my way through the station to Dojima's office. I had received an urgent phone call early in the morning to get to him as fast as possible. As I entered, I was greeted by a grim-looking Adachi and a frustrated Dojima. A sense of defeat and frustration filled the air.

Dojima growled, "Saki Konishi has been found dead…"

* * *

AN: And that's chapter 4! Once again, thank you for reading and remember to review, I would really appreciate some feedback.

Sorry for the delay, I was unexpectedly informed that I would have to move out of my home by the end of this coming week so I've been preparing my stuff. As such chapter 5 might come later in the week, probably towards the end of the first week in December, but don't worry everything will be fine.

Like I said before, this is my first fic so I've never had to write a fight scene before hopefully I did well enough (Although it is heavily inspired by the first fight in P4GA). I'm not going to start listing BGM to listen to while reading this fic, but it was fun to listen to Time To Make History-special mix/Reach Out To The Truth-first battle while writing the fight scene.

Honestly, I sort of wanted to do another playthrough of Persona 4 (since it's been awhile since I've played it) before writing this fic, but I started the notes and first two chapters on a whim and I feel like it would make this fic come out even slower if I started now, so I'm glad that there's already high quality resources about Persona 4 (Both game walkthroughs as well as both of the animes)


	5. Side Story: Moh Shuvuu

Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Fog of Inaba

Side Story: Moh Shuvuu

It was nearing the end of my second year of junior high and I, Jousei Shokan, have yet to make a single friend. I found myself sitting in the courtyard of the school, eating lunch alone. My school life had been nothing but a failure so far. I had not attended elementary school so I knew no one when I entered this school. My schooling, before this point, was attended to in the Kuzunoha training hall. When this school year had begun, I petitioned for the chance to join in with the other kids attending. The seemingly nameless teachers that had been with me throughout my formative years were okay with my proposition, and so I found myself thrust into a school where I had no previous bonds nor any social skills that were anything to be proud of. The first few days seemed to go well, being entirely new to the students in my class gave me some novelty as they each wanted to get to know me better. Unfortunately, I didn't know what to say to their questions about me:

'_I'm Jousei Shokan, future protector of Japan and demon summoner in training!'_

Yeah, no.

I doubt any of them would believe anything about my real life anyway, and so my classmates took my lack of answers as a sign that I wasn't interested in friendship, and my infrequent attendance didn't help in that regard either. I would frequently have to skip school in order to attend to my training as Raidou Kuzunoha or any other duties the nameless people there gave me. Even though I would frequently be at the top of my class, grade-wise, I would still be labeled a slacker, delinquent, and many other unsavory titles. I had only wanted to go to school for the human interaction, I at least wanted to get to know the people I would one day be protecting, and disembodied voices, spirits, and nameless humans that I have known in my life so far had left a lot to be desired.

Rustling in the bushes near me brought me out of my depressing thoughts, a small feminine face peered at me through the brush. She seemed to notice my gaze and she slowly rose from the bushes. I finally was able to see her entire form, she was small, her dark-violet hair became white at its tips and it curved upwards like wings. She wore a red dress with brown mittens and brown snowshoes.

'_A demon!?'_ my mind raced. '_I'm not exactly in a position to fight it, I should try to solve this more diplomatically.'_

"H-Hello," I slapped myself internally at my meek voice. "W-What are you doing here?"

The small demon ignored my question and turned her attention to the small bento in my hands.

I held it towards her, "Are you hungry?"

She quickly snatched from my hands and began to gobble it down.

"I didn't know demons have to eat."

"We don't," she finally spoke. "I just wanted to take it from you."

Anger and confusion filled me, "What!?"

The demon began to chuckle, "Your face looked so funny!"

Once she finished her fit of laughter, she floated over to me and placed the empty bento in my hands, "I'm Moh Shuvuu, thanks for the meal and a show."

I sighed, "I'm Jousei Shokan, nice to meet you Moh Shuvuu."

A smile crept over her face, "Seems that you're the only one who can see me, are you some kinda demon summoner?"

"Yeah," I replied. "One in training, at least."

She hummed to herself, "You look pretty weak, but I know it's not smart to underestimate a demon summoner and I don't feel like dying today. I'll leave these other kids alone."

I smiled, "Thank you, Moh Shuvuu."

She huffed, "It's the least I could do, anyway, what are you doing here alone? No friends, huh?"

I flinched as she began to laugh again, "Looks like I hit the nail on the head, not that it was hard though. You looked sad, ya know?"

"Well, I-"

My words were cut out by the sounds of nearby chattering.

"He's talking to himself again…"

"Ha! What a weirdo…"

"Why is he even here?"

"I heard he's in a gang…"

Moh Shuvuu's smile dropped, "...Sorry for bothering you, kid. I'll be going now."

"It's nothing," I waved it off. "You be good, Moh Shuvuu."

I began to walk away from her as the bell signaling the end of lunch rang throughout the school…

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.

.

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I stood in the entrance, watching other students hurry out of the school, into the rain.

I sighed, 'Looks like I picked a bad day not to bring an umbrella…'

I stepped out of the school and started running through the rain. My arms held over me didn't do much to stop the rain from drenching me.

A voice suddenly called out to me, "Hey, Jousei!"

I turned to see who called my name and was met with a familiar face. It was Moh Shuvuu and she struggled to hold an umbrella out to me.

"Hurry up and take this! I didn't think it would be so heavy."

I took it from her and quickly opened it up, "Thank you, Moh Shuvuu."

She moved closer to me, underneath the protection of the umbrella.

"Don't mention it," she huffed. "It was pretty funny to watch you flail around so look at this as payment for entertaining me."

I sighed, "Well, whatever your reasons are, I'm still thankful."

She floated in front of me, "So, where are we going?"

"Huh?" I said in surprise. "Well… I don't have training today, so home, I guess."

Moh Shuvuu nodded and floated back beside me. Our journey home was relatively quiet and I could tell she was restraining herself from asking any questions about what my classmates said during lunch. We had finally arrived at my house after quite a long walk. My house was quite small and looked pretty old. It was placed on the outskirts of town where it rarely was seen by any people passing by. I used to live at the training hall, but after I requested a home to stay at this pace was arranged to be my temporary residence. I couldn't complain about it since I was the only one living there, and I doubt the people at the training hall have many funds to spare.

"You live here?" Moh Shuvuu finally broke her silence. "It doesn't look much bigger than a shack!"

I sighed, "It's better than nothing…"

I held the door open for her as she floated inside. She wasn't entirely wrong about my home, it was only a little bigger than a shack. It had a living room that also served as my bedroom, a small kitchen area, and a bathroom.

"Hellllloooooo," Moh Shuvuu called out. "Anybody home?"

"No, just me and you," I told her.

She spun around towards me, "Where are your parents? Do you have any siblings?"

"No, I'm an orphan. It's just me here."

A look of sorrow passed over her face, "Oh! I'm sorry Jousei…"

"It's fine, Moh Shuvuu, you didn't know and I've never known my parents."

Moh Shuvuu still seemed apologetic, "I see…"

I began to move towards my kitchen, "I'm going to start preparing dinner, did you want to stay?"

That seemed to take her mind off her previous question, "I thought I told you that demons don't need to eat?"

"Yeah, but you can taste right?"

She slowly nodded her head.

"Then you should eat," I said. "I can't say I'm a great chef but I can guarantee it'll at least taste good."

Moh Shuvuu didn't move much from the small table in the center of my living room, not that there was anywhere else to go. I gathered the ingredients from my small fridge and began preparing a simple meal of hamburger steak with some vegetables on the side. No more than an hour must have passed as I finished plating the food and moved back towards the living room.

I placed Moh Shuvuu's portion in front of her as well as a knife and a fork, "Be careful, it's hot."

"I know! You don't have to treat me like a child, I can guarantee I'm much older than you!"

I apologized and we started to eat, unfortunately, a new problem arose. Moh Shuvuu could barely wield her silverware. I couldn't help but chuckle at her situation. It wasn't like the silverware was that much bigger than her, I assumed it was just from a lack of practice. I assume demons don't exactly have much use for silverware.

I leaned over to her, plucking the knife and fork from her hands, "Here, I'll cut it for you."

Moh Shuvuu protested at first, but as I had finished half of my meal before she could even take a single bite she soon passed the silverware to me. I cut the steak into small bits so that she could easily poke them with her fork. I passed it over to Moh Shuvuu, her face as red as her dress.

Her embarrassment faded into awe as she took her first bite, "Wow! This is amazing!"

Her praise was left at that as she continued to gobble the rest of her meal down. A content smile spread over my face at her display of gluttony. Looks like I'm not such a bad cook after all.

Once she finished her meal her face shifted back to a bright red.

"So, how was it?"

"I-it was alright," she stuttered. "I'm definitely a better cook."

I continued to tease her, "Oh, is that so? Then you should make me lunch for tomorrow."

A fire lit in her eyes as she accepted my challenge, "Fine then! I'll show you why demons are superior to humans in every way!"

The somber and apologetic air that previously surrounded her was snuffed out by our light-hearted banter that continued throughout the night…

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I, once again, found myself in the school courtyard, eating lunch alone. When I awoke I found Moh Shuvuu's bento that she had prepared for me as well as a note she wrote explaining she had somewhere else to be. I wondered what she had to attend to as I opened up her bento.

It was mini hamburger steaks with some eggs and vegetables as sides. Simple but effective. My eyes widened at the taste of each of the items she prepared. I couldn't stop myself from devouring Moh Shuvuu's dish, not unlike how she reacted to my food yesterday.

"I admit defeat, Moh Shuvuu," I muttered to myself.

I was brought out of my reverie by the sound of someone clearing their throat. I looked up and was met with the face of a girl.

The girl narrowed her intimidating red eyes at me, "Shokan-kun, you know what I'm here to tell you, right?"

I sighed, "Of course, Oshiro-chan."

Haruka Oshiro, the class representative of my class and one of the most well-known girls in the entire school. She gained a reputation by straightening out 'problem students'. Delinquents, weirdos, and general social rejects could not escape her wrath, once she began targeting you it was just easier to give in to her demands than to struggle. It seemed she began to turn her attention towards me once the rumors surrounding me started to get more vocal.

Haruka twirled her fingers around her short brown hair in annoyance, "It sure doesn't seem like it, the rumors are getting even worse. Your attendance is getting better but it's still abysmal compared to your peers and some of the students are becoming convinced you're in a gang."

I lowered my head, "I apologize, I'll try to sort that out."

She continued her rant, "It's not just that! A lot of people saw you talking to yourself again yesterday, I have no problems with it but it makes you look like a deviant in the eyes of others."

Haruka huffed as I turned my head away, "You should consider yourself lucky I'm even giving someone like you the time of day. Just remember your poor reputation affects the people around you as well."

She turned away from me which prompted the students around us to begin gossiping about our encounter. I moved to the back of the school for the rest of my lunch break instead of staying in the courtyard.

"Why do you just take it!?"

I looked to the source of the voice, finding that it came from Moh Shuvuu.

"What do you mean?"

Moh Shuvuu became incredulous at my question, "Why do you allow them to bad mouth you and treat you like trash!?"

I sighed, "It's not worth getting mad at. I'm not just any demon summoner, Moh Shuvuu, I'm the next in line to take up the title of Raidou Kuzunoha. One day I'll be protecting all these people, I can't allow my own feelings to get in the way of my duty."

Moh Shuvuu seemed to be processing my words, "Raidou... Kuzunoha…"

A high pitched scream pierced through our thoughts, causing us to become alert.

"What was that?" Moh Shuvuu asked first.

My feet began moving towards the source, "It sounded nearby…"

Moh Shuvuu and I found the source of the scream, Haruka was being pulled by the arm into some sort of portal.

She noticed me as she tried to call out for help, "Shokan-kun! Please, get help!"

Her cries for help were snuffed out as whatever was on the other side of the portal finally pulled her in. I hurdled myself at the closing portal, ignoring rational thought as well as Moh Shuvuu's cries.

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It didn't take long for me to become aware of my surroundings.

"The Dark Realm…" I breathed out.

I was not ignorant of the Dark Realm's existence as it was one of the first things I learned about in my training. I had only been in the Dark Realm one or two times, but it left such a distinct impact on me I doubt I would ever forget the feeling of it. The Dark Realm was where demons inhabited and merely reflected the state of the world where humans lived. I already began chastising myself for my lack of planning. No weapons, no help, no one even knowing I was here. I decided to push that in the back of my mind as I remembered why I rushed here in the first place.

"Oshiro-chan!" I foolishly called aloud.

Haruka returned my call with a scream, which allowed me to follow it to the source. Haruka was surrounded by only two ghouls but with no weapons at my disposal, it was going to be an uphill battle.

I rushed towards the one closest to Haruka and forced my fist towards its face, knocking it away from her. I dodged the other ghoul's slow swipe before also throwing a punch at its body. The fight continued like this for a while. I would dodge and retaliate, pushing the ghouls away further with each hit. I wouldn't call myself weak, but the lack of weaponry meant that I wasn't doing all that much damage to either of them and I was soon becoming worn out.

As I expected, I took a hit to my chest by one of the ghouls. The force of the blow knocked the wind out of me and I found myself on the ground. Both of the ghouls made their way towards me, raising their arms high to slam down on me. I raised my arms to defend myself, but the blows of the ghouls never came. They were instead blown away by a strong gust of wind.

"You're such an idiot!"

I was pushed to my feet by winds that gathered underneath me, bringing me face to face with an unhappy Moh Shuvuu.

I gave her a stupid smile, "I know, thanks for coming to the rescue."

"Whatever," she huffed. "Let's just hurry up and save that girl."

Moh Shuvuu must've healed my wounds as I found myself full of energy again. I returned to one of the ghouls and began assaulting it with a flurry of blows. Moh Shuvuu made sure that the other ghoul couldn't get close to me with her bursts of wind. We found ourselves fighting in sync, alternating between our two foes. Moh Shuvuu formed her winds in the shape of a blade and I took it into my hands and took a stance, waiting for the ghouls to draw near. Once they were in sufficient range I spun around with the outstretched wind-blade. My spin created a torrent of slices that split the two ghouls into pieces, ending our battle.

I sighed in relief, "That's all for now, let's grab Oshiro-chan and-"

Before I could finish my thought, Moh Shuvuu slapped me with her tiny hand, "You Idiot! How are you going to become Raidou Kuzunoha if you just keep rushing into things with no concern for yourself!"

Although her slap was weak it brought her point across well, "I see, I apologize Moh Shuvuu. I know it was foolish of me to rush in, I just wanted to protect Oshiro-chan."

Moh Shuvuu sighed, "It's commendable that you wanted to protect her, but you would've died if it weren't for me coming to your rescue."

"You can continue to lecture me later," I interrupted. "We first need to get out of the Dark Realm…"

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We had made our escape back to the human world with an unconscious Haruka in tow. I decided to leave her in the nurse's room as Moh Shuvuu and I made our way out of the school.

"Are you going to continue your lecture?"

Moh Shuvuu's face softened, "I was seriously worried for you, Jousei."

I started to feel bad at my previous dismissal, "I'm truly sorry, I need to learn to keep my emotions in check."

Moh Shuvuu put a finger to chin and seemed to be contemplating something, "I've finally decided, I'm going to become one of your demons!"

Surprise crashed over me, "Huh?"

Moh Shuvuu's eyes shone with resolution, "I see something special in you, Jousei. You decided to help that girl even though she was giving you a hard time, and you even said you would protect all of those other brats that spread nasty rumors about you."

"W-Well that's nothing…" I stuttered out.

She shook her head, "It's not 'nothing', Jousei. You have strength that I doubt most humans have, we've only known each other for not even two days and I can already see how strong you can become."

Moh Shuvuu grabbed my hand with both of hers, "I want to be with you on your journey to become Raidou Kuzunoha. I want to stay with you, Jousei."

I blushed at her words before shaking her hand, "Well then, let's get along. I'm Jousei Shokan, future protector of Japan and demon summoner in training!"

Moh Shuvuu smiled, "And I'm Moh Shuvuu of the Wind Order!"

"I'll be relying on you, Moh Shuvuu."

* * *

AN: This is obviously different from the actual main story but will play an important role in discovering Raidou's past as well as how he got his demons.

Thanks for reading and remember to review (if you want to)!

Due to me moving to another home I unfortunately do not have access to my usual pc which is where I'm most comfortable writing (I wrote this side story from my sister's laptop) there may not be another chapter for at most the rest of this month, my apologies if that turns out to be the case.

Replying to review(s):

InfernoPolizei: Thank you for your very constructive review! I definitely felt I went a little too far with the fight scene and the 'edge' (probably because I was basing it off the first fight in P4 the Golden Animation, which is pretty over the top) I'll make sure to keep it down a bit.

Also thank you for pointing out the "Me and [character]" mistake, I noticed a bit too late but if I get the chance I will edit it so that it's grammatically correct


	6. Case 5: Shadow World

Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Fog of Inaba

Case 5: Shadow World

Date: 4/15, Friday

Time: Early Morning

Weather: Rain

Location: Inaba Residential District

The rain battered Dojima and I as we stood side by side looking down at the body of Saki Konishi. Her skin was a pale blue, her eyes rolled back, and her face held a look of indescribable fear. Adachi took one look and was now bent over regurgitating his breakfast.

Dojima lowered the tarp that protected her body from the rain and walked away, with me close behind.

"Raidou, go get Adachi," Dojima growled in a low voice, his back turned to me. "We have to start our investigation."

I simply nodded and started making my way to the retching detective.

"Adachi-senpai," I called while patting his back. "Dojima-san is calling for us."

Adachi raised himself and wiped his mouth, "Yeah… Sorry Raidou-kun, let's get going before Dojima-san smacks both of us."

Dojima hadn't moved from where he ordered me to retrieve Adachi, he finally turned to us as Adachi and I approached. His face was still covered in frustration and defeat, in his hand was a smashed box of cigarettes. Needless to say, Dojima wasn't taking this well. I doubt anyone was taking this well.

Dojima took a deep breath before talking, "The victim is confirmed to be Saki Konishi, her body was found hanging on a telephone pole. There were no external wounds found on her body…"

Dojima stopped, taking another deep breath, "I'm repeating myself, aren't I?"

His words were heavy and the implication was blatant. Saki Konishi's death was obviously similar to the death of Mayumi Yamano. The lack of external wounds, the position the body was found in, even the location wasn't too far off.

"You think this is related to the Yamano case?" Adachi asked.

Dojima nodded, "Everything is too similar to be a coincidence, this has to be a serial murder case. The coroner's report for Mayumi Yamano came back, no internal wounds were found either. I have no doubt that Konishi's report will also have no signs of internal wounds."

He sighed before continuing, "The mysteries keep piling up…"

I finally decided to speak up, "What do we do now?"

My question seemed to draw Dojima out of his thoughts, "We're going to go gather information, you're with us this time, Raidou."

I nodded as Dojima made his way to his car with Adachi in tow.

"Gouto," I called as Gouto appeared from somewhere. "Those kids we saw yesterday, I want you to keep an eye on them for me."

Gouto tilted his head, "You think they'll return to that world?"

I began to follow after Dojima and Adachi, "I know they will."

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Date: 4/15, Friday

Time: Afternoon

Weather: Rain

Location: Yasogami High

The announcement of Saki Konishi's death shocked the entire school, including me. Rumors and speculation could already be heard from the students as Chie and I stood in the hallway, looking for Yosuke. He understandably took off during the assembly and now I was searching for him with Chie.

Our search was cut short by a voice approaching from behind us, "Hey… Did you guys check out the TV last night?"

Chie turned around but her face was filled with shock and anger, "Yosuke! Not you too!"

"Just listen for a sec!" Yosuke snapped, silencing Chie. "After what we saw before I had to watch it again and… I think the girl on the screen was Saki-senpai."

Yosuke's words shocked both Chie and I.

"Don't you remember?" Yosuke continued, his voice quivered. "Someone claimed Ms. Yamano was his soulmate 'cause he said he saw her on the Midnight Channel too. They're saying Saki-senpai died the same way Ms. Yamano did, I'm betting it's not a coincidence."

I couldn't hold back my questions anymore, "Are you saying whoever ends up on the Midnight Channel… Ends up dead?"

Yosuke turned to me, "I can't say for sure, but remember what that bear thing said? How that place was dangerous, and we should leave before the fog clears? We were also definitely attacked by something in there."

I shivered at remembering what happened yesterday, It didn't hit me until later but I felt that we could've died in there. How we survived was still a mystery to us.

Yosuke must've noticed our change of expression as he lowered his voice, "It also said that someone's been throwing people in there and that room with the posters on the wall… It has to have something to do with the announcer's death."

"You're saying the world in the TV is somehow related to both these murders?" I asked.

"I mean, there has to be some connection, right?" Yosuke looked at us. "Well? What do you think?"

I paused to think before answering, "You might be right."

Yosuke looked relieved, "So it's not just me, huh? If there is a connection, then it's a good bet that the two of them went inside that world. That would explain the posters in that room. Which means… If we look around, we might find a place that has something to do with Saki-senpai, too."

Chie must've realized Yosuke's intentions, "Yosuke, don't tell me…"

"Yeah," Yosuke interrupted. "I'm thinking about going in again. I want to find out for myself."

"D-Don't do this," Chie said, panic lining her words. "You should just let the police handle this and-"

"You think we can rely on the police!? They haven't even made any progress on the announcer's case! Besides, even if we told them about the world inside the TV, there's no way they're gonna believe us!"

Yosuke stopped his outburst and lowered his voice, "I know you're scared, hell, I'm shaking just imaging going back in there. It's just… I need to know why Senpai had to die like this…"

"Oh, Yosuke…" Chie lamented.

"You guys don't have to come, I'll go on my own if I have to. I just can't ignore it after what I've seen and what I've put together..."

I put my hand on Yosuke's shoulder, "I'll come too, I can't let you go alone."

Surprise spread over Yosuke's face, "Really!? Thanks, Yu, it means a lot to me. I'm gonna go get ready, I'll be waiting for you at Junes."

As Yosuke ran off, Chie turned to me, "Are you seriously going with him!? We aren't even sure is we'll be able to get out safely again."

I sighed and started to walk away, "I know, but I could tell Yosuke was serious when he said that he would go alone if he has to. Let's go to Junes."

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Date: 4/15, Friday

Time: After School

Weather: Rain

Location: Junes, Electronics department

"You guys came!"

Chie stomped her foot in frustration, "Yosuke! This is crazy, please you can't be serious!"

Chie and I approached Yosuke, he stood in front of the large TV that we had fallen in yesterday. In his hands were some rope and a golf club.

Yosuke turned away from Chie and stared into the TV, "We've already escaped before, and if we use the same entrance again… Maybe we can see that freaky bear again."

"'Maybe' isn't good enough!" Chie seemed to have not changed her mind on not allowing us to go back.

Yosuke shook his head, "Look, I can't just act like everyone else and pretend this has nothing to do with me."

I turned to Chie, "I can't leave it alone, either."

Chie gaped at me as I moved to Yosuke's side.

"Thanks, Yu," Yosuke looked back to Chie. "Don't worry, I'm not going in without a plan."

Yosuke handed Chie the other end of the rope that was tied to his waste, "Chie, I'm leaving you in charge of this."

Chie took the rope in her hands and looked to Yosuke for an explanation, "We'll go in with this tied to me, so I want you to hold on to this and wait here."

Yosuke's plan didn't seem to quell Chie's concern, "Wh-What? Then, is this a lifeline? C'mon, wait a sec…"

Yosuke ignored her question and held out the golf club to me, "Here, Yu, this is for you."

I took the golf club in my hands, kind of dumbfounded, "Well, I guess it's better than nothing…"

Yosuke shared my look of apprehension, "Sorry, it's all I could find on such short notice."

He turned back around to the TV, all three of our reflections staring at us from the black screen, "Alright… Let's go. There's no use wasting any more time. Chie, whatever you do, don't let go of the rope!"

I tentatively touched the TV, causing waves to ripple over the large screen. I shared a look with Yosuke, we took a deep breath and lept inside of the TV…

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Date: 4/15, Friday

Time: After School

Weather: ?

Location: Inside the TV

*THUD*

"Owww…"

My eyes were met with the familiar sight of this fog-filled studio. Yosuke rose to his feet, rubbing his behind.

"Look, this is the same place as last time! So they are connected from place to place!"

"Y-You guys…" A familiar squeaky voice came from the fog, "Why'd you come back?"

The bear we saw yesterday waddled out from the fog, towards us, "I get it! You're the ones behind this!"

Yosuke and I shared a look of shock at the reappearance of the bear? Mascot? Monster-thingy?

Yosuke was the first to recover from being surprised, "You're that thing from last time! Wait, what the hell did you just say!?"

The bear turned away from us, "Lately, I can tell someone's been throwing people in here. It's making this world more and more messed up…"

He turned back around, a cartoonish expression of anger painted on his face, "This is the second time you guys came here, and I don't think anyone forced you in. That means you're the most suspicious! You guys must be the ones throwing people in here!"

I held up my hands at the bear's accusation, "Calm down, we're not the ones 'throwing people in'. We don't even know what you're talking about."

"Yeah!" Yosuke interjected. "If someone was thrown in here and they couldn't get out, they might die! Who would do such a-"

Yosuke's face of anger morphed into an expression of realization, "Wait a sec…"

I shared his revelation as I looked to him, "If people are being forcibly sent here, then there's a chance that Saki and Ms. Yamano will be here too."

Yosuke nodded at me, "Yeah, that must be it."

"Could it be that someone's throwing people in here," Yosuke began speculating. "Intending to kill them? If that's the case…"

The bear started to stomp his foot, "What're you guys mumbling about? Why'd you come here, anyway!? It's a one-way door! You can't get out once you're in! Remebear? How I had to let you guys out?"

"Yeah, whatever," Yosuke snapped at the bear. "We don't need your help this time! See, this time we have a lifeli-"

My heart sunk as Yosuke lifted the rope tied to his waist, revealing that it was no longer connected to the other side of the TV.

"You'll let us out, right, Mr. Bear!?" I plead.

"Yeah, once we're done investigating!" Yosuke added.

The bear growled, "I'm the one who wants to investigate! I've lived here for a long time, but it's never been noisy like this till now."

The bear waddled closer to us and thrust his plush paw in Yosuke's face, "Do you have proof!? Prove to me you're not throwing people in here!"

Yosuke batted the bear's paw away, "For the last time, it's not us, so we've got nothing to prove to you!"

I decided to try and move the conversation along, "Please, we'd appreciate it if you answered our questions."

"Yeah," Yosuke joined in. "People have died in our world… Every time the fog appears, a dead body shows up with it. It has to be related to this place somehow, tell us!"

Our questions must've brought the bear out of his anger, "A dead body? Whenever the fog appears? I know that if it's foggy on your side, the fog lifts here. It's really dangerous when the fog lifts. That's when the Shadows get violent."

The bear's eyes widened, "Aaaah… I get it…That's it! No more questions! I know you guys did it! Come clean already!"

I could tell Yosuke was getting more fed up with the bear as he went on, "What!? Look, we've already told you over and over that it wasn't us! If anyone's the most suspicious, it's you! In fact, I think you're the real culprit! Now, take off that stupid costume so I can see your face!"

Yosuke lunged for the bear and gripped the side of its head. The bear's head came off with a 'pop' and revealed only an empty costume where the assumed body would be. He dropped the bear's head and retreated to my side.

"W-What the hell!? H-He's empty inside…"

I took the head in my hands, placing it back on top of the body.

The bear gave his thanks but he seemed weary, "A-Alright, I'll believe that you guys aren't the culprits, but I want you to find the real guy who did all this. I just want to live in peace, you have to stop him. Promise me!"

"Okay, I promise."

"What!?" Yosuke blurted out after hearing my answer. "You're seriously going to help this thing!?"

I nodded, "There's no reason not to help him, we have the same goal, don't we? Plus, he knows a lot more about this world than we do."

The bear started to cry, and he took my hand into his, "Th-Thank you!"

Yosuke sighed, "Yeah, you're right. Find the culprit, huh? You've got my word, too."

"We should introduce ourselves," I started. "I'm Yu Narukami."

"I'm Yosuke Hanamura, you got a name?"

The bear extended his hand to Yosuke, "...Teddie."

I chuckled, "It fits, I guess."

Yosuke clapped his hands together, "So, how are we supposed to find the culprit in the first place?"

"I dunno… Oh, but I know where the last person came in."

"The last person?" Yosuke questioned. "You mean Saki-senpai!?"

Teddie shrugged, "I mean the person who came in and disappeared last time. I dunno the name. I'll take you there, you might find clues."

"Oh, one thing first," The bear retrieved something. "You two should put these on."

Teddie handed us both a pair of glasses.

"Glasses?" I questioned. I put the glasses on and was shocked as the yellow fog faded away.

"Whoa!" Yosuke blurted out. "The difference is like night and day… With these on, it's like the fog doesn't exist."

Teddie nodded, "They'll help you walk through the fog. Well, I've been here for a long time. So you can rely on me! Uh… But I can only show you where the place is. You guys will have to defend yourselves."

I was alarmed by Teddie's statement, "Huh? But I thought it was you that saved us from those monsters yesterday!?"

Teddie laughed nervously, "Did I say that? I meant that I didn't fight them, I just ran away with you guys."

Yosuke was also alarmed by this revelation, "Th-There better not be any of those monsters! We brought weapons, but I mean… They're more for show!"

"I'll give you guys moral support from a safe distance!" Teddie offered.

I held up the flimsy golf club, "Please lend us your strength, Mr. golf club."

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Date: 4/15, Friday

Time: After School

Weather: ?

Location: Inside the TV, Shopping District?

"What is this place? It looks just like the shopping district…"

Yosuke was right, this place did look just like the shopping district. From what little of the town I explored, it was blatantly obvious that all the stores both looked the same and in the same places as they were on the other side. The only thing that differentiated it from the real shopping district was the yellow haze that covered everything and the black and red sky that seemed to constantly be moving.

"Some weird places have appeared here recently," Teddie explained. "Things are getting so tangled, I dunno what to do…"

Yosuke stopped in his tracks and turned back towards Teddie, "Uh… By the way, why are you standing so far from us? You better not be planning to high-tail it if something comes up."

"Of course not!" Teddie denied. "I mean, uh. I can't stand too close, you know. I'd get in your way…"

I shared a look of doubt with Yosuke before he turned back to look at our surroundings, "Man, they really went all on this, but out of all the places in town, why'd they replicate this one?"

Teddie shrugged, "How should I know? This is reality for the one who's here."

A look of annoyance appeared on Yosuke's face.

"Maybe we shouldn't question it for now," I suggested

Yosuke nodded, "Yeah, but if this is our shopping district, we're not far from Saki-senpai's…"

Yosuke didn't finish his thought as he started to run ahead of Teddie and I. We quickly started to follow Yosuke up the road until we stopped at a small store located at the end of the road. The sign above the entrance read 'Konishi Liquors'.

"I knew it!" Yosuke exclaimed. "This is the liquor store that Senpai's parents run. Does this mean… Senpai disappeared here? What could've happened?"

Yosuke tried to move towards the entrance but Teddie grabbed him by his sleeve, "W-Wait a second. Th-They're here!"

I swiveled around to face Teddie, "Who's here?"

He looked up to me with a fearful expression, "Shadows, those things that attacked you yesterday! I had a feeling they were going to attack!"

We didn't have time to run away as a mask blue mask started to emerge from the entrance of the liquor store. The blue mask was attached to a pile of black sludge. The black sludge first lunged at Yosuke, who jumped away and landed on his back. Another pile came from the entrance and each of them slowly rose to the sky, collapsing into themselves and creating spheres. They're body gained black and pink stripes, revealing that they were the same type of monsters that attacked us yesterday.

The monsters, or Shadows as Teddie called them, turned around to show Yosuke and me their large mouths and their equally large tongue which was hanging freely. Yosuke rose to his feet to try and run back to where me and Teddie stood. Unfortunately, the Shadows proved quite fast as one of them quickly slammed into Yosuke, bringing him back to the floor.

"Yu! Help!" Yosuke cried.

I pushed down my fear and rushed towards the Shadow, raising the golf club above my head. The Shadow seemed to be more interested in Yosuke as it didn't send me a glance as I approached. When I was in a sufficient range, I brought down the golf club over the monstrous sphere. My heart sunk and the color drained from Yosuke's face as the golf club snapped in two. The Shadow turned towards me and whipped me with its tongue, sending me tumbling. The Shadow chuckled at me before turning back towards Yosuke.

I reached for Yosuke as he started to scream, "Nooo!"

'_Is this the end?'_ I thought. '_Why did this happen?'_

"_**Why? You ask 'Why'!?**_"

A voice boomed in my mind that wasn't my own, but sounded similar.

"_**You came seeking the truth, didn't you?"**_

'_The truth...?'_

"_**You ask if this is the end, are you content with this being the end?"**_

'_No… I'm not…'_

"_**Will your search for the truth end here?"**_

'_No… It won't!'_

"_**I see…"**_

The voice faded for a bit before a familiar feeling of nausea and pain filled my mind.

"_**I am thou…"**_

"_**Thou art I…"**_

"_**The time has come…"**_

"_**Open thine eyes and call forth what is within…!"**_

The pain subsided immediately and I felt something in my grip. It was a card, I flipped the card around to reveal a blank, black background. A light spilled out from the previously blank card. A smile spread over my face and I felt words being pushed to the front of my mind.

"Per…"

"So…"

"Na…"

Blue flames had burst out from the card and I saw a figure appear on the front. I raised the blue flames in front of my eyes and crushed the card with all my strength.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaghhhhhh!"

I let out a primal scream as the blue flames spread out from behind me, from the blue an apparition started to take shape. The flames started to dissipate, allowing me to see the figure that stood behind me. The figure's eyes were a bright yellow, it wore a metal mask, what looked to be a metal headband coiled around its head and flowed through the air. It seemed to wear a long, black, ouendan and held what looked like a spear in his hand.

"_**I am Izanagi, Father of the Land, I rise from the sea of thine soul."**_

The Shadows cowered for a moment at the appearance of Izanagi, before one of the orbs rushed towards him. I thrust my hand to the Shadow and Izanagi stomped his foot into the Shadow, causing it to burst. I had no chance to catch my breath as another Shadow slammed into Izanagi, a sharp pain spread over my body. Izanagi and I stumbled back, but before the Shadow could wind-up another attack, I swung my arm in the air and Izanagi mirrored my movements. His spear cleaved clean through the Shadow and the two pieces dissipated. The last Shadow continued to cower from Izanagi's display of power.

"Izanagi!" I called. "Finish this!"

Izanagi held out his arm and I could feel his power coursing through my body. The sky split as a bolt of lightning struck the remaining Shadow, resulting in an explosion of black goo.

The battle finally ended and I turned to meet Izanagi. Our eyes locked for a moment before he simply nodded, his form starting to get more transparent before vanishing completely.

I caught my breath as Yosuke ran up to me, "Whoa… Wh-What was that!? Did I hear you say 'Persona'!? What was it-"

Yosuke shook his head vigorously, trying to get his thoughts in order, "I mean, what did you do!?"

I was still unsure of what happened, "I-I'm not too sure what I did…"

Teddie rushed up to us as well, "Wow! You're just like Sensei!"

"Sensei?" I questioned.

"I-I mean," Teddie started to panic. "That's what I'm calling you from now on! Yep! You're Sensei!"

Teddie started to backtrack, "A-Anyway, I can't believe you were hiding such an amazing power! No wonder the Shadows were scared of you!"

Teddie gasped, "Are you the one who's able to bring people into this world?"

I nodded, "I guess so…"

"That's what I thought! This is really something," Teddie said, before turning to Yosuke. "Don't you think so, Yosuke?"

Yosuke pushed Teddie, who bounced back up immediately, "Dude, you call him Sensei and then don't show me any respect!?"

Teddie gave a disheartened apology.

Yosuke shook his head before turning to me, "You saved me back there. Thanks, Yu, keep this up and I think we'll be fine from here on out."

"I'm just glad we're all safe," I admitted.

"Yeah, now let's get back to the investigation," Yosuke said as he turned back to look at the entrance of the liquor store.

"Man… I wonder what could have happened to Senpai here."

Yosuke was caught off from continuing into the liquor store as voices began to echo from somewhere…

"**I wish Junes would go under…"**

"**It's all because of that store…"**

Yosuke turned his head from side to side, looking for the origin of the voices, "Wh-What the…?"

"**Oh, I heard that Konishi-san's daughter is working there…"**

"**Oh my… How could she, with her family's business suffering like it is…?"**

"**I heard their sales have gone downhill because of Junes..."**

Yosuke shook his head, "S-Stop it…"

"**That poor father… To have his daughter working for the enemy…"**

"**What a troublesome child…"**

"Hey… Hey, Ted," Yosuke called, panic and frustration filling his voice. "You said that this place is a reality for those that are here, right!? So… Does that mean this was Senpai's reality when she wandered in here?"

Teddie looked pensive, "I… Only know about what's over here."

"Fine," Yosuke growled, as he walked towards the entrance. "Whatever's going on here… We'll find out ourselves!"

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Date: 4/15, Friday

Time: After School

Weather: ?

Location: Inside the TV, Liquor Store

We rushed in and were met with an expansive building, kegs of alcohol stacked and scattered around. What was more noticeable was the unknown voices that continued to echo throughout the air…

"**Saki, how many times do I have to tell you!?"**

Yosuke seemed to be surprised by the gruff, middle-aged voice that we heard, "I-Is this… Senpai's dad?"

"**You know what the neighbors say about you, right!? Aren't you ashamed of yourself? You're the eldest daughter of a family who's owned this store for generations! Is it the money? Or did you meet some guy there? Just tell me why you have to work **_**THERE**_**, of all places!"**

Yosuke reeled from what he was hearing, "I… I can't believe this… She seemed like she had fun at work… She never said anything like this to me…"

"Is this how she saw things?" I asked softly.

Yosuke ignored my question as he ran forward. Yosuke stopped at a large table, papers sprawled all over the surface of it.

Yosuke reached for something, "These photos… Hey… Is this? It's the photo we took the other day with the other part-timers at Junes… Wh-Why's it cut up like this?"

Yosuke was right about it being cut up, the scrap showed Saki smiling with Yosuke standing next to her.

"**I… never had the chance to say it…"**

Yosuke's head shot up, "Is that… Saki-senpai's voice!?"

"**I always wanted to tell Hana-chan…"**

"Huh? Me?"

"**...That he was a real pain in the ass."**

Yosuke's eyes widened and I sent him a look.

"**I was nice to him just because he was the store manager's son, that's all, but he takes it completely the wrong way and gets all enthusiastic… What a dip."**

Yosuke cringed and his voice wavered, "P-Pain in the ass?"

"**Who cares about Junes, anyway? Because of that store, our business is ruined, my parents hate me, the neighbors talk behind my back… I wish everything would just disappear..."**

"It's a lie!" Yosuke shouted as he sunk to the floor and held his head. "Stop lying! Senpai would never say that!"

A familiar voice could be heard coming from nearby, sniffling mockingly, "It's so sad… I feel so sorry for myself… Boohoo…"

Yosuke and I turned around to see something that rocked both of our minds.

"Another Yosuke!?" I cried.

The other Yosuke continued, laughing maniacally, "Actually, I'm the one who thinks everything's a pain in the ass."

We ran up to the other Yosuke, as we drew near we were able to get a better look at him. He was almost identical in every way, the only differences were glowing yellow eyes, the menacing aura that surrounded him, and the slight distortion in his voice.

"Who are you!?" Yosuke questioned. "I-I wouldn't think that…"

The other Yosuke chuckled, "Yeah, right. How long are you going to keep deluding yourself? Screw the shopping district, and Junes too! You're sick of everything, especially living out in the sticks!"

Yosuke took a step back, "What!? That's not true, I-"

"You put on a good show of being carefree and happy-go-lucky 'cause you're so terrified of being alone," the other Yosuke interrupted. "The more the merrier, right? You've gotta be surrounded by people to block out the pain of isolation."

The other Yosuke continued, "What's even more disgusting is that you didn't even come here to save your beloved Saki, you just came here looking for some fun. You thought you could even become a hero, how pathetic. You only used her death as the perfect excuse!"

"Stop spouting this crap!" Yosuke snapped. "Who the hell are you!?"

The other Yosuke sighed, "Do you even listen? I told you already, I'm you… Your Shadow… There's nothing I don't know about you!"

"Screw that! I don't know you," Yosuke spat. "You can't be me, you son of a bitch!"

The other Yosuke started to laugh, "That's right! Say it again!"

Yosuke complied, "You're not me, you're nothing like me!"

"Hmph!" The other Yosuke silenced his laugh. "Yeah… That's right… I am _me_ now! I'm not you anymore, see?"

Yosuke cowered away from his other self as it exploded into a torrent of black. The silhouette of something large started to form. The walls around us began to fall, revealing that they were only cardboard cutouts.

The form of whatever the other Yosuke turned into was finally revealed. Its body resembled a frog with a camouflage pattern and it had a cartoonishly large smile. A flailing body was atop the frog, it wore a red scarf and had big yellow gloves.

"I am a shadow… The true self," It spoke. "I'll crush everything that bores me…"

The body raised its fist, "Starting with you!"

It brought its fist down towards Yosuke, who had been standing there in awe. I tackled Yosuke to the floor as the Shadow slammed its fist into the ground.

The blue card appeared before me, and I crushed it, "Izanagi!"

Izanagi flew down, stomping the flailing body with his foot. The body grunted and recoiled. I picked Yosuke up from the ground and moved him to where Teddie was hiding.

"Stay here," I said. "I'll take care of this thing."

I rushed out to meet the Shadow who had recovered from Izanagi's blow.

"How long can you survive this?" Shadow Yosuke taunted.

Shadow Yosuke leaped into the air with no warning and quickly landed, producing a strong torrent of wind. I had Izanagi guard us but the winds broke straight through him, sending Izanagi and I flying. I rose to my feet and ordered Izanagi to cleave him with his spear. Izanagi did as I told as he flew towards Shadow Yosuke, slicing his body while dodging his blows.

"You're such a pain in the ass!" Shadow Yosuke screamed.

Izanagi started slowing down, allowing the Shadow to slam it's fist into him multiple times. The barrage of attacks ended when Izanagi faded away. My head pulsed with pain, each blow Izanagi took was also reflected on my mind. It was enough pain that I became paralyzed, as the large Shadow loomed over me.

Shadow Yosuke laughed maniacally, "Get ready to die, dumbass!"

Shadow Yosuke rose his fist above him, I brought my arms up to guard my body and shut my eyes in fear. I could hear Yosuke's and Teddie's cries and Shadow Yosuke's laughter become distant as my senses started to fade away and I slipped into unconsciousness…

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

The sounds of a gun going off brought me back into reality. I felt my energy coming back to me as I was able to rise back to my feet. Shadow Yosuke, who had once towered over me, was now leaning down. Chunks of his body looked like they had blasted off. I tried to look to the source of the gunshots but only saw a flash of black. I pushed it to the back of my mind as I readied to continue our fight.

"Now's your chance, Sensei!" Teddie shouted.

"Izanagi!" I called while smashing the card which appeared before me.

Izanagi reappeared in front of me, looking fully restored. Izanagi once again trusted his arm towards Shadow Yosuke, calling down a bolt of lightning that finished him off. He exploded into a fog of black and red and only the original body was left. The room returned to the familiar location of the liquor store.

I ran to Teddie and Yosuke, "Are you guys alright?"

Yosuke nodded before noticing the familiar figure that stood behind him, "You… You're… not me…"

"That thing came from you, Yosuke," Teddie explained. "You have to admit it… Or it'll go bearserk again…"

I could sense Yosuke's reluctance as I gave him some words of encouragement, "You have to be brave, Yosuke. If you can't accept that part of yourself then you'll just be running away, we came here to find the truth, right? Are you just gonna ignore everything? Are you going to forget about Saki?"

"Brave…" Yosuke processed my words. "Dammit… It hurts to face yourself."

Yosuke turned around and walked closer to his Shadow self, "I knew you weren't lying, but I was so ashamed that I didn't want to admit it…"

"You're me, and I'm you," Yosuke address himself. "When you get down to it, all of this is me."

Shadow Yosuke smiled at Yosuke's acceptance as he started to change forms. A new figure floated in front of Yosuke, it wore a red scarf with a golden smile that was across his chest. It had the eyes of a toad, its hands and the ends of its pants had a camouflage pattern on them, and it held a golden shuriken in each hand. The figure shifted forms once again to that of a small card.

Yosuke held the card in his hands as it faded away, "This is my Persona, Jiraiya…"

Yosuke flashed Teddie and me a smile before falling to his knees, I quickly moved to his side and extended my hand out to him. Yosuke grabbed it and I helped him rise to his feet.

"Yu, thanks, you saved my life, again."

I nodded, "It's nothing, we should get out of here, you're not looking too good..."

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Date: 4/15, Friday

Time: After School

Weather: ?

Location: Inside the TV, Entrance

I watched as Yu and Yosuke exited through the tower of TVs Teddie created. I was starting to regret not jumping in sooner as I saw their sluggish movements and grunting. It was only thanks to Yu summoning that 'Persona', as he called it, that I was able to keep my cover.

I moved closer to Teddie, who turned around in shock, "Wah! Raidou-sensei!"

I patted Teddie's head, "Sorry, Teddie, you must've been scared, right?"

Teddie shook his head, "N-No, I wasn't scared. I could tell you were nearby thanks to my incredible nose!"

I still felt bad for my reluctance to help them, "Teddie, if you wouldn't mind, I have some questions for you."

Teddie seemed to become more alert as I continued, "You said that you think someone's been throwing people inside the TV, right?"

"Yeah," Teddie answered. "I can't imagine how else those two people ended up on this side."

"Those Shadow things attacked them right, just like Yu and Yosuke were attacked, right?" I questioned. "Do you know when they died?"

Teddie flinched at my question, "I think it was when the fog lifted… When it lifts here, the Shadows become really violent. I think that's when I stopped sensing them."

"So there's a time limit," I realized. "If Yosuke had been stuck here, he would've been killed by his Shadow. That must be how Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi died."

Teddie jumped as I stepped to the tower of TVs, "Thank you, Teddie, for answering my questions and for helping those two."

Before entering the TVs I turned back to Teddie, "They promised to help you find the culprit, right? You also have my word Teddie, I'll find who did this."

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Date: 4/15, Friday

Time: After School

Weather: Rain

Location: Samegawa Flood Plain

I found myself rushing through the heavy rain, after making my way out of the TV and back into Junes. Dojima obviously noticed my absence as I saw that I missed several calls from him. He ordered me to return to the station, but the rain had become too heavy for me to continue as I looked for shelter.

Looking at my surroundings, I saw Yu and Yukiko sitting underneath a bench that was shielded from the rain. The pair noticed me as I made my way to them.

Yukiko stood up, "Oh, Raidou-san, sorry, I was just about to take my leave."

She bowed to Yu and me as she unfolded her umbrella, "I'll see you when you return, Raidou-san."

Yu waved her goodbye as she ran back into the rain. He stayed sitting on the park bench and looked up to me, expectantly.

"You're not going to leave also?" I asked.

Yu shook his head, "No, actually, I wanted to talk to you. You're working with my Uncle on the Mayumi Yamano case, right?"

I nodded, "Why do you ask?"

"I wanted to know how the investigation is going."

I was a little shocked at his forwardness, "Why not just ask Dojima-san?"

"I doubt he would tell me," he said. "You don't have to answer, I just wanted to try asking you."

I held back a chuckle, sure, I'll throw him a bone, "I'll be honest, not well. She shows no signs of trauma, both external and internal. The most obvious suspects have an air-tight alibi, and there were no previous sightings of her before she was found dead. It'll definitely be a tough case to solve"

Yu narrowed his eyes at my words, "Why did you answer me? Shouldn't you be secretive about all this?"

"You asked," I retorted. "Why would you ask if you weren't expecting an answer?"

I continued, "Why do you want to know about Yamano anyway? I would imagine you would be more interested in Saki Konishi."

Yu turned away from me, "I was just curious, that's all…"

The rain had finally began to lighten up, so I started to move away from the shelter.

I spared one final look to Yu, "You're not very good at lying."

Yu craned his head to look back at me.

I chuckled at the speed of his head, "Not that that's a bad thing, Narukami-kun…"

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Date: 4/15, Friday

Time: After School

Weather: Rain

Location: Chinese Diner Aiya

"Aiyaaaa! Welcome, come in! Come in!"

The greeting from the man behind the counter shocked me as I entered the small diner. Dojima had messaged me once I started to walk towards the station that he and Adachi had taken a break from their investigation. It didn't take long for me to spot a waving Adachi and an annoyed-looking Dojima sitting in the back of the diner. I gave a small nod to the restaurant owner before moving to Dojima and Adachi's table.

"Where have you been?" Dojima began my interrogation. "You disappeared just like this yesterday, I hope this doesn't become a bad habit of yours, Raidou."

Adachi put his hand on Dojima's shoulder, "Come on, Dojima-san, give Raidou-kun a break. Inaba may be small, but you can still get lost if you've never been shown around."

Dojima's eyes widened a bit, "Ah, right. I forgot I didn't show you how to get around, sorry about that."

"Oh, It's fine, Dojima-san," I said, hurriedly. "Someone had shown me a bit of the town two days ago, I apologize for my absence."

Our exchange of apologies was cut short when a young woman with navy-blue hair came up to our table, placing bowls in front of each of us. I was immediately alerted to the ridiculous size of my bowl in comparison to Dojima and Adachi's bowls. The bowl contained a mountain of meat that threatened to spill out onto the table below.

I looked up to the young woman in confusion, "Huh? What's this? I didn't even order anything yet."

The young woman returned my confusion with a blank stare, her voice equally devoid of emotion, "You're that new detective in town, right? Just think of it as our way of saying 'good luck' on the Yamano case. Don't worry, it's on the house."

Adachi marveled at the mountain of meat as the waitress walked away, "Whoa… That's the Mega Beef Bowl, it's a pretty famous eating challenge here. They only serve it on rainy days and if you finish it, it's free."

"Whatever," Dojima said, brushing off the previous events. "Let's hurry up and eat so we can get back to the investigation."

With that out of the way, we began to dig into our respective meals. If I'm being honest, I was kinda confident when I first started to attack the Mega Beef Bowl. This confidence was immediately stomped into the ground as thirty minutes passed by and I only just started to get into the actual bowl. Ten minutes later and Dojima and Adachi had already finished their meals, while I felt like my gut was going to burst. Meat and grease overwhelmed my mind, it was all I could think about. It was like I was transported to a dimension of meat...

I put my chopsticks down in defeat, "I give up… Has anyone really finished this?"

Dojima chuckled at my surrender, "No one that I can remember, you're just another victim to it."

"That'll be 3,000 yen," the waitress said as she took the bowls from our table.

I looked to her in shock, "Huh? I thought you said it was 'on the house'?"

"It's fine, I'll take care of the price," Dojima sighed, giving the waitress a few bills.

Dojima rose from his seat, "You can go home, Raidou. Just be ready tomorrow, I'll have you working all day."

Adachi sent me a look of sympathy as he followed Dojima out of the diner. It took me a lot longer than I'd like to admit to get up from my chair…

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Date: 4/15, Friday

Time: Evening

Weather: Rain

Location: Raidou's Room

I entered my room with no incident. Yukiko didn't greet me when I entered the lobby, but I did see her on my way to my room. She looked busy as she rushed through the halls, giving me a small apology as she moved passed me. I pushed it to the back of my mind as I was alarmed by something else Gouto sat in the center of my room, water dripping off his hair.

I grabbed a towel and began to dry him off, much to his annoyance, "I thought I told you to go back home when you told me they were going back into that TV!"

"Calm down," Gouto hissed. "Contrary to your belief, Jousei, I'm more than just a babysitter. You underestimate my investigation skills."

I sighed, feeling bad at my overreaction, "Well, did you find anything?"

Gouto leaped away from me, keeping his back towards me, "...No, not really."

Before I could tease Gouto, the TV flickered on with heavy static sounding out throughout the room.

Gouto looked to the clock on the wall, "12 o'clock… It's that Midnight Channel…"

The TV displayed a figure shrouded in darkness. I moved closer to the TV to try and make out any details about the figure. It seemed to be a woman wearing a kimono, her back turned towards the screen which allowed her long, dark hair to be in full view.

"No…" I exhaled. "Is that… Who I think it is…?"

* * *

AN: Happy New Year! Sorry about the lack of chapters this month, there's been a lot of external factors (other than the holidays) that have been getting in the way of me being able to write much (hopefully my situation will be resolved soon).

Honestly, I'm not very happy with how this chapter came out with the lack of many Raidou scenes, this will hopefully be fixed when he joins the team (which will happen soon) as well as the fact that I only wrote what happened in one day but I didn't want to make the chapter too long by trying to fit more in.

Anyway, time for some actual author notes:

An Ouendan is basically the term for a japanese cheer outfit, Izanagi's design is directly inspired by cheer squads (Even in P4G when Yu equips the "cheer squad" outfit almost every party member comments on how he looks similar to Izanagi)

"Father of the Land" refers to the fact that Izanagi is the father to many japanese deities as well as laying the foundation of the soil and nature of Japan. (I'm not really sure if my version of Yu's awakening really fits with how he actually received Izanagi but it was just a fun idea I had)

Replying to reviews:

Nnt13101996: It wasn't in my original plans, but I've definitely thought about adding a descendant of him but it's still up in the air on whether I'll do it.


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